I know I should write a match preview, but I want to talk a bit about Brazil’s first game under Dorival Júnior. I may write something more cohesive once we see how the game against Spain goes, but I wanted to commit to getting these thoughts out into the open. So! Dorival’s debut exceeded expectations, as Brazil beat England for the first time in the “new” Wembley Stadium. Considering the quality on paper of the opposition, it might well have been the most impressive debut result for a Seleção coach this century. Dorival has passed a very tough first test, and though England went a little fla ..read more

Brazil vs. England Wembley Stadium, London, England, March 23, 2024 Kickoff: 3:00PM EST / 4:00 PM BRT / 7:00 PM GMT US TV: FOX Likely Starting Lineup: Bento; Danilo, Fabrício Bruno, Beraldo, Wendell; João Gomes, Bruno Guimarães, Lucas Paquetá; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vini Jr. On The Bench: Léo Jardim, Rafael; Yan Couto, Ayrton Lucas, Bremer, Murilo; André, Andreas Pereira, Douglas Luiz, Pablo Maia; Endrick, Pepê, Galeno, Richarlison, Savinho. Notes and Storylines The big storyline is obviously that this is new coach Dorival Júnior’s first game in charge. I wrote a little bit about him in ..read more

In the, um, extremely long time since I last wrote a post on here, I’ve been thinking about our now-former coach, Fernando Diniz, whose six-game tenure in charge of Brazil spiraled down the toilet in remarkable style. A 5-1 debut win against Bolivia was fun but very much expected; following that up a couple days later with a listless performance and a late winner from a corner against Peru was concerning. By the next pair of games a month later, conceding a late equalizer to Venezuela at home and then losing in dismal fashion to Uruguay, the alarm bells were well and truly clanging. Losses in ..read more

Fernando Diniz is still, for now, Brazil’s coach, and the comments section under the last post is getting pretty long, so I thought I might as well create a new thread for Fluminense’s Club World Cup campaign. First up, they have a semifinal against Egyptian club Al-Ahly, who produced a comprehensive and surprising victory over Al-Ittihad, the Saudi club that recently added Karim Benzema, Fabinho, and N’Golo Kanté to its ranks. Fluminense vs. Al-Ahly King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, December 18, 2023 Kickoff: 1:00 PM EST / 3:00 PM BRT / 6:00 PM GMT Afterwards, they’ll end ..read more

We’re fucked, aren’t we? Brazil vs. Argentina Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro, November 21, 2023 Kickoff: 7:30PM EST / 9:30 PM BRT / 12:30 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: Fanatiz Likely Starting Lineup: Alisson; Emerson Royal, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Carlos Augusto; André, Bruno Guimarães; Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Rodrygo, Raphinha. On The Bench: Lucas Perri, Bento, Renan Lodi, Bremer, Nino, Douglas Luiz, Joelinton, Raphael Veiga, Endrick, Paulinho, Pepê. Notes And Storylines The Fernando Diniz experiment has well and truly blown up. See the banner image on this post? It’s actually wr ..read more

Colombia vs. Brazil Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla, Colombia, November 16, 2023 Kickoff: 7:00 PM EDT / 9:00 PM BRT / 12:00 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: Fanatiz Likely Starting Lineup: Alisson, Emerson Royal, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Renan Lodi; André, Bruno Guimarães; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vini Jr, Gabriel Martinelli. On The Bench: Lucas Perri, Bento, Carlos Augusto, Bremer, Nino, Douglas Luiz, Joelinton, Raphael Veiga, Endrick, Paulinho, Pepê. Notes and Storylines Once again, a FIFA date lands at an exceptionally busy time for me. I know I always say that, but I really mean ..read more

Uruguay vs. Brazil Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay, October 17, 2023 Kickoff: 8:00 PM EDT / 9:00 PM BRT / 12:00 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: Fanatiz Likely Starting Lineup: Ederson, Yan Couto, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Carlos Augusto; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Neymar; Vini Jr, Rodrygo, Gabriel Jesus. Bench: Alisson, Lucas Perri, Emerson Royal, Bremer, Adryelson, Guilherme Arana, André, Gerson, Raphael Veiga, David Neres, Richarlison, Matheus Cunha. Notes and Storylines Unfortunately, I can pretty well repeat what I wrote before Thursday’s game against Venezuela. Fe ..read more

Brazil vs. Venezuela Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, October 12, 2023 Kickoff: 8:30 PM EDT / 9:30 PM BRT / 12:30 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: FuboTV, Universo/Telemundo Likely Starting Lineup: Ederson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Guilherme Arana; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Neymar; Vini Jr, Rodrygo, Richarlison. Bench: Alisson, Lucas Perri, Yan Couto, Bremer, Nino, Carlos Augusto, André, Gerson, Raphael Veiga, David Neres, Gabriel Jesus, Matheus Cunha. Notes and Storylines Fernando Diniz is on a short leash. After debuting as Brazil’s manager with a very entertain ..read more

Peru vs. Brazil Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru, September 12, 2023 Kickoff: 10:00 PM EDT / 11:00 PM BRT / 2:00 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: Fanatiz (pay-per-view) Likely Starting Lineup: Ederson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Renan Lodi; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Neymar; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Richarlison. Bench: Alisson, Lucas Perri, Vanderson, Roger Ibañez, Nino, Caio Henrique, André, Joelinton, Raphael Veiga, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Matheus Cunha. Notes and Storylines: Well, I said in my preview of Friday’s game against Bolivia that I hoped new coach Fernando Diniz w ..read more

The New Guy’s first test. Brazil vs. Bolivia Estádio Mangueirão, Belém, Pará, September 8, 2023 Kickoff: 8:45 PM EDT / 9:45 PM BRT / 12:45 AM GMT US TV/Streaming: Telemundo/Univision (maybe??? who knows???) Likely Starting Lineup: Ederson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Renan Lodi; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Neymar; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Richarlison. Bench: Alisson, Lucas Perri, Vanderson, Roger Ibañez, Nino, Caio Henrique, André, Joelinton, Raphael Veiga, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Matheus Cunha. Notes and Storylines: Well, the waiting is over. It’s finally time to see what ..read more