Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Brazil could line up for Friday’s Copa America clash with Paraguay.
Following a shocking 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, Brazil manager Dorival Junior has said they must find “solutions to score”.
One player he may want to look to is the teenager Endrick, who has been much sharper in the attacking third for this team than his soon-to-be Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior.
Endrick has three goals in his last five games, equalling Vini Junior’s entire total with the national team in 31 appearances.
However, given Vinicius’ knack for stepping up in big moments at club level, we believe he will still crack the starting 11 on Friday.
Surprisingly, Douglas Luiz was an unused substitute against the Costa Ricans, with Joao Gomes playing in a holding midfield role once again alongside Bruno Guimaraes.
However, Luiz may be a better option for Junior to win possession and provide an attacking option going forward, with the Aston Villa man netting nine times in the previous Premier League campaign and Gomes only scoring twice for Wolves.
Guilherme Arana started at left back in place of Wendell on matchday one, while Eder Militao came in for Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Beraldo.
The Real Madrid man will likely keep his place in the starting 11, though he is on a yellow card and will miss their final group fixture with another one on Friday.
The most experienced Brazilian, Marquinhos, will again marshall their backline, scoring seven goals for the national team, three more than the entire defensive unit combined.
While they failed to find the back of the net on matchday one, Brazil made life easy on Alisson between the sticks, failing to concede a single effort on target.
The Liverpool man collected his first clean sheet with Selecao since their victory over Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup (1-0).
Their matchday one result was only the second time since October that they had not conceded a goal in 90 minutes.
The previous time was against England at Wembley Stadium during a March 2024 friendly when Bento made three stops to pick up a clean sheet.
Brazil possible starting lineup: Alisson; Danilo, Militao, Marquinhos, Arana; Guimaraes, Luiz; Raphinha, Paqueta, Rodrygo; Junior
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