Brazil began a tournament many are expecting them to win with an underwhelming draw against Egypt before hitting their stride with big victories over Austria and Panama. Nevertheless, coach Ney Franco does have some concerns, especially at the back, having been forced to make two first-half substitutions in Brazil’s final group game against the Panamanians in a bid to address their defensive failings.
Franco is pondering whether to stick with the players who came on then, and push makeshift full-back Danilo into a more familiar midfield role. He has no such problems up front, where Henrique, Philippe Coutinho, Oscar and the versatile Casemiro have been carving out chance after chance with their snappy passing and fluid movement, which could yet provide the key to the country’s fifth world title at this level.
Brazil’s back-line will need to be at its tightest against the dangerous Saudis. Prompted by the pacy duo of Ibrahim Alibrahim and Yahya Dagriri, the Saudis scored eight goals in their opening two group games, seven of them by different players, before turning in a listless display against Nigeria, one that left coach Khalid Alkoroni an unhappy man. Even so, the Middle Easterners had already qualified for the last 16 by then (for the first time ever at the FIFA U-20 World Cup), and are justifiably confident they can cause an upset.
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