On Tuesday, Brazil took the field at the Mineirao stadium for the side's second training session ahead of Thursday’s World Cup qualifying showdown with Argentina.
It was the first time the team had set foot on the field in Belo Horizonte since the infamous 7-1 World Cup 2014 semifinal defeat to Germany.
Early on in the session, coach Tite called over Filipe Luis and Marcelo for a brief chat. Left back is the only place up for grabs this week, after an injury to Marcelo saw Filipe Luis start both of last month’s qualifiers. And it appears Marcelo has got the nod to return.
Then the players did their warm up at the edge of the field before splitting into groups for rondo-style passing exercises.
Once again, Tite made no attempts to hide his working starting XI, and Brazil is expected to line up against Argentina as follows:
Tite again led drills designed to work on the team’s movement and rotation when in possession, but this time also had the team work on a number of crossing exercises – even getting on the ball and sending some of his own into the box.
Brazil looks set to take the game to Argentina, focusing heavily on quick, possession-based football, while Tuesday also saw the team work extensively on set pieces.
The session ended in typically light-hearted fashion, as the outfield players made a bet with the goalkeepers for shooting practice.
Whenever a goal was scored, the ‘keepers had to do push-ups, while a save would result in a workout for the outfield players. Even goalkeeping coach Taffarel got in on the act.
There has been a palpable change to the atmosphere in the squad since Tite’s arrival and, with four consecutive victories under his leadership, spirits remain high in the Brazil camp this week.
