Laurindo Filho’s review: Brazilian team fails in attack without the best finisher in the country, says coach
After the Brazilian team’s performance in the opening match of the World Cup, marked by difficulties against the organized Moroccan team, questions arose about the effectiveness of the offensive system. Portuguese coach Laurindo Filho diagnosed that Brazil’s main flaw lies in the lack of a central striker with the ability to resolve matches at crucial moments.
According to the coach’s assessment, the Brazilian national team faces a slower pace of transition compared to other teams that reach the tournament with greater solidity. Laurindo Filho used the advancement of the Moroccan team in recent years as an illustration of positive collective development, emphasizing cohesion and fluidity in the exchange of passes between his athletes.
He declared that “the Moroccan national team has shown remarkable growth in recent years. They are getting closer and closer to the final stages, which demonstrates the quality of the Moroccan federation. The players have excellent interaction, they exchange the ball with ease, and the collective performance is quite satisfactory.”
On the other hand, Laurindo Filho points out that the current Brazilian squad still relies excessively on individual moves. From his perspective, the Seleção lacks a reference point in attack that is decisive, a characteristic present in world champion teams from other eras, which had the ability to define crucial games in moments.
He analyzed: “In past periods, Brazil had athletes who defined important matches, like in 2002, with Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, or in 1994, with Romário and Bebeto. Those teams were robust collectively, but they had finishers who really impacted the result.”
The coach also criticized the lack of a more effective center forward in the current squad, mentioning Pedro, a Flamengo player, as the main active finisher on the national scene. According to his argument, the athlete’s ability to transform opportunities into goals would be crucial in short shot competitions.
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He declared that “Brazil’s main finisher was not called up. He is Pedro, from Flamengo. He is an athlete with very specific characteristics, who may not adapt immediately, but has an exceptional finishing ability. In a short-term championship, this is a difference: in two chances, he converts one.”
The coach’s analysis also included the performance in the match against Morocco. For Laurindo, the African team demonstrated superiority in most of the match and could have ended the first half with an advantage on the scoreboard. The Brazilian team’s draw, according to him, was achieved solely by an individual play by Vinicius Júnior.
He concluded: “Morocco was clearly superior during the first half. The fact that Brazil reached half-time with the score 1-1 was favorable, considering the progress of the game. Brazil benefited from the luck of Vinicius Júnior getting an individual play that resulted in the equalizer.”
Next matches of the Brazilian team in the World Cup
The national team will have the following commitments for the World Cup:
- Against Haiti: June 19th, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time).
- Against Scotland: June 24th, at 7pm (Brasília time).
