Brazil 2-0 Argentina: Three Things We Learned

Gabriel Jesus was scoreless so far in the 2019 Copa America campaign. But the Manchester City striker came up big when his country needed him the most. The exciting forward chipped in on both goals with a strike and an assist, as Brazil defeated Argentina 2-0. Due to this, La Selecao have clinched a spot in the final match. They will wait until Thursday to decide if they will take on Peru or Chile in the decisive encounter.

Here are three things we learned from this thrilling encounter.

Tite set up the perfect tactic

Tite started Alex Sandro instead of Filipe Luis on the left-back role, and this move proved to be wonderful defensively. It also freed Dani Alves, and the former PSG right-back would end up being decisive on the play that led to his country’s first goal. Gabriel Jesus created havoc, Arthur and Casemiro looked impressive in midfield, and Brazil looked quite dominant on both sides of the ball. Despite the scoreline, this could’ve been Brazil’s best performance so far in the 2019,Copa América. And it might have come when they wanted it the most. They dominated the game entirely, and fully deserved the win against their heated rivals. Although to be fair, Argentina contributed to the outcome of the game as well…

What happened to Argentina?

It’s hard to say what happened to Argentina in this match. Some might say they were afraid, and some might say they looked overmatched. The sad thing lies on the side’s lack of clarity and ability to turn things around. Angel Di Maria was a disaster, and Paulo Dybala was a non-factor. But Argentina sent them to the pitch when it was too late. They lacked intensity and confidence to flip things over. Lionel Scaloni deserves blame too. He should have been aggressive, but his passive approach ended hurting the side badly. Luck was a factor as well, as La Albiceleste had two shots on the posts during the match.

Lionel Messi can’t do everything on his own

Messi didn’t have their best performance in this game, but that has been a trend during the entire Copa America. Once again the Barcelona star looked uncomfortable out there, and he lacked help on the attacking end to potentially disrupt an organized Brazilian defensive line that hasn’t conceded a single goal in five matches so far. Lautaro Martinez looked overmatched by Thiago Silva and Sergio Aguero was absolutely useless despite his second-half improvement. All things considered, Messi needs more help. Otherwise, Argentina will continue depending exclusively on him and that formula is not useful anymore.

Match Report

Brazil: Alisson (6); Dani Alves (7), Marquinhos (5) (Miranda (5), 64’), Thiago Silva (6), Alex Sandro (6); Casemiro (6), Arthur (6); Gabriel Jesús (8) (Allan (-), 80’), Philippe Coutinho (5), Éverton (6) (Willian (5), 46’); Roberto Firmino (7)

Argentina: Armani (5); Foyth (6), Otamendi (5), Pezzella (4), Tagliafico (5) (Dybala (-), 85’); De Paul (6) (Lo Celso (5), 67’), Paredes (5), Acuña (4) (Di Maria (4), 59’); Messi (6); Martínez (4), Agüero (5)

Goals: Gabriel Jesús (1-0, 19’), Roberto Firmino (2-0, 71’)

Referee: Roddy Zambrano (Ecuador)

Yellow Cards: Dani Alves, Allan (BRA); Acuña, Agüero, Foyth, Martínez, Tagliafico (ARG)

Red Cards: None