ALI’S YOUR PAL
A GREAT deal is made of Brazil’s much-vaunted attack, the swagger of Neymar and thrusts of Gabriel Jesus. But under coach Tite (below), the Samba stars also march to the beat of an impressive, solid defence. Recent warm-up fixtures against Austria and Croatia brought two more clean sheets.
It’s not only that Brazil defend well these days, they have an outstanding goalkeeper in Alisson. The Roma No.1 dominates his penalty box, rarely mishandles crosses or shots and is also capable of the near-miraculous.
Brazil are well set to navigate Group E and look likely to do so with a couple more shut-outs to boot. And as they go deeper into the tournament and their defence comes under increasing pressure, their last man won’t flinch.
For your Five-a-side Live team, hang your hat on 25-year-old Alisson. FEW will begrudge Marco Reus his chance to shine at these finals – the Germany star having missed out on glory in 2014 and then the Euros two years ago, both due to serious injury.
A wonderfully talented, if fragile, forward, Reus (left) has been back at something like his best for Borussia Dortmund in recent months, scoring regularly.
Set to start for Joachim Loew in Die Mannschaft’s opener, he could be a wildcard worth playing. MARIO GOTZE, the man who won the last World Cup for Germany, wants a move to England to revive his career.
A string of Premier League clubs have been alerted to Borussia Dortmund playmaker Gotze’s availability this summer.
Arsenal, Everton and West Ham are among those monitoring the 26-year-old.
And Leicester and Newcastle have also made enquiries about Gotze, who would cost around £18million. He was on top of the world when firing Germany to glory in 2014 with an extra-time winner against Argentina, but he has endured a difficult four years since.
Gotze’s career at Bayern Munich stalled and his return to Borussia Dortmund has not worked out, leaving him eyeing a switch to the Premier League. He has failed to recapture the form he showed under former Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp as he was hampered by injury and then a metabolic disease which cut short his 2016-17 season and caused fatigue and weight gain.
He returned to action last summer and showed flashes of his ability but not enough to earn a place in Germany’s World Cup squad.
Germany boss Joachim Loew (left) said: “If a player scores the winner in the World Cup final at such a young age, it can be a burden. This season has not gone the way he would have wished. He just did not have the form but I hope he returns.”
Gotze had Europe’s biggest clubs chasing him when he left Dortmund for Bayern in 2013 and hopes he can recapture the form that led to him being hailed as Germany’s Lionel Messi.