To Russia with love?
games, seven points clear of second placed Uruguay who have 23 points.
It is all a far cry from the state of the table last September. When Tite took charge of his first qualifying game, Brazil were languishing in sixth place overall, with only nine points from six games.
But tomorrow, if Brazil beat Paraguay in Sao Paulo, and Chile and both Ecuador and Chile lose their games, the five-time World Cup-winners will have secured their berth in Russia.
Tite meanwhile has attempted to keep the soaring optimism that accompanied Brazil’s revival in check, insisting that he is not a miracle-worker.
“If people want a perfect coach, Jermain Defoe (left) scores England’s first goal against Lithuania during the World Cup 2018 qualification match at Wembley Stadium in London yesterday. they should look elsewhere, because at some point I’m going to make a mistake,” Tite said following Thursday’s rout of historical rivals Uruguay.
Arguably, Tite’s most significant achievement since taking charge is to make Brazil less reliant on Barcelona superstar Neymar.
While Neymar has flourished under Tite – scoring five times in qualifying since the former Corinthians coach took over – the “Selecao” is now a more rounded attacking force.
Goals have arrived from all areas, with China-based midfielder Paulinho – one of the most maligned players of Brazil’s ill-fated 2014 World Cup campaign – conjuring an improbable hattrick against Uruguay last week.
Yet if Brazil’s passage to Russia is now a formality, the situation is anything but straightforward for the chasing pack.
Argentina hauled themselves back into the qualifying places on Thursday with a battling 1-0 win over Chile.
The Argentinians will attempt to build on that crucial victory when the travel to the thin air of La Paz to face Bolivia tomorrow morning.
The city’s Estadio Hernando Siles is situated some 3,600 metres above sea level, and was the scene of a famous 6-1 Argentinian defeat in qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
In qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, Lionel Messi was left vomiting at halftime while Angel Di Maria needed to be given oxygen on the pitch before Argentina ground out a 1-1 draw.
Failure to beat Bolivia tomorrow could see Argentina fall out of the automatic qualifying positions once more, if Colombia beat Ecuador in Quito and reigning South American champions Chile down bottom team Venezuela in Santiago.
Chile, back-to-back winners of the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, are currently outside the qualifying places following last week’s defeat in Buenos Aires.
Captain Claudio Bravo vowed ‘La Roja’ would go all out to secure victory against Venezuela.
“We will be more aggressive at home, for sure,” Bravo said. The fact that Chile dominated Argentina for long periods on Thursday has left the squad encouraged, the Manchester City goalkeeper added.
“We lost but analysis of the game leaves us strengthened, because we are convinced that by playing this way we will reach the World Cup,” Bravo said. – AFP