Brazil: Three players to keep an eye on at the 2018 World Cup

Less than a week until the 2018 World Cup kick-off and Brazil is, like always, one of the countries to look for.  The five time World Cup Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) always have players to pay attention to, and here are three players that we should keep an eye on in this World Cup

Now, Brazil is a tough team to choose just three players, Tite, Brazils coach, had great players to choose only 23, but let’s try and focus on these three.

Neymar (Forward, 26,Paris Saint Germain:)  Who am I kidding, the $528 million PSG player is one of the most critical players in this squad. The 26-year-old player was a big concern to Tite [Brazil’s coach] and all of Brazilians, after spending 3 months recovering from a fractured metatarsal in his right foot. But last Sunday the $528 million PSG (still) player showed that he is well into recovery and scored Brazil’s first goal at the 69’ against Croatia in a friendly match.

Neymar has shown over and over how good of a soccer player he is, it is not a surprise that he is on this list or will be one of the most watched players this World Cup. Hopefully this time he won’t get injured and will be able to play the finals.

Phillipe Coutinho (Midfielder, 25, FC Barcelona:) He had a slow start as a member of the Brazilian squad, being on and off for a while (it is hard to be a player who plays in the same position as Neymar). But in 2016 he became a “go-to” kind of a player for Tite and snatched a place for himself as conducting midfield coming from a central position and putting Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Firmino, Marcelo or Willian in the right place to score. Coutinho may also be a key player, being able to move to the wings and change the game to a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 from the traditional 4-1-4-1 Brazilian way to play.

Gabriel Jesus (Forward, 21, Manchester City:) While everybody is watching and double making Neymar, the 21-year-old Manchester City forward is one to look for. The “Tetinha” [easy-peasy] scored nine goals while wearing the Brazilian Jersey and has the strength to hold the ball while under pressure from the defenders. Gabriel Jesus may be the youngest one, but he is ready to tackle any challenge in front of him and make great use of the #9 Jersey that one belonged to Ronaldo. “I didn’t expect even to be a footballer, but I always dreamt of that. It is no different with wearing No. 9. Many players made history with Brazil wearing it, I want to follow their path,” said Jesus in an interview to the Associated Press.

One more.

It’s hard to mention only three key players, so here comes an extra one.

Also, keep an eye on Roberto Firmino.

Everyone was sure that Neymar would have a place if he recovered from his injuries, but he is not the only key player on this team as we saw, and on top of Coutinho and Jesus there is Firmino.

Firmino is considered one of the best soccer players in the last European season, one of the players who put Liverpool at the Champions League final.

Many coaches would love to have this kind of problem, better to have more talent than no talent at all to choose, right?

But the question stays: Firmino or Jesus?

While Jesus has the ball control while under pressure holding the defense while the others arrive with support for the attack, Firmino is older, has more experience and also is really good while playing defense. He is known for stealing the ball on his own side of the field, working his way on a counterattack. Both players are talented and as Pep Guardiola said in an interview to ESPN, “Lucky for Brazil that they have two incredible strikers.”

And if the chance arrives, Tite can always put both players at the same like he did against Bolivia during the qualifiers.

Last minute injury: Fred, the Brazilian got hurt during an open practice and did not play Brazil’s final friendly before the World Cup on Sunday against Austria.