When Brazil crash out of a World Cup it doesn’t take long for shock and sadness to be replaced by anger in the country. A villain has to be appointed; usually it is the coach. And, after getting no further than the quarterfinals in two consecutive tournaments, Tite is an easy target.
The knives have extra sharpness this time because of Tite’s conduct immediately after Friday’s penalty-shootout defeat against Croatia. No, he did not flee the scene, as his harshest critics allege. But after speaking to a few of his players he retreated to the dressing room. Many would have liked to have seen him out on the field at the darkest hour, sharing the pain of his players.
The expectations for Brazil are higher than anywhere else, but yet again the Seleção have fallen at their first meeting with a European side in the knockout stage. And the conquerors keep getting smaller. In 2018, it was Belgium, with a population of under 12 million. This time it was Croatia, with less than four million. So where did it go wrong?
The short answer is that penalties were forced by a moment entirely untypical of the Tite team — caught out on the counterattack with the team up 1-0 and the finish line in sight, the game sent to a shootout by Bruno Petkovic‘s goal (Croatia’s only shot on target), which needed a deflection to get past goalkeeper Alisson.
The fatal move is being analysed, analysed and analysed again; pressure and extra time can do strange things to a team. Should they press high as usual or drop off? What they should not have done is attempt both at the same time. Croatia built their move in the gaps, where maybe midfielder Casemiro should have been more prudent than to try to win the ball and get the wrong side of Luka Modric.
