It’s the stars, from different generations, who light up football – 03/28/2023 – Tostão

The first matches of the European and South American teams in the post-World Cup already present some novelties. Coaches live in doubt about choosing the best players at the moment or starting reformulations with a view to the 2026 World Cup.

As expected, Brazil and Morocco had a balanced match. Both teams put pressure on the opponent’s field, often recovered the ball and created several chances for goals. Brazil missed Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Neymar. The team, as always, had little control of the ball and exchanged few passes.

The debutants were discreet. Young Andrey didn’t know whether to position himself next to Casemiro or move forward. Rony acted as in Palmeiras, from right to center. Vitor Roque and Raphael Veiga played for a short time.

One of the main reasons for the absence of the Brazilian team in the last five World Cup finals is the lack of more individual talent. I disagree with the commonplace that Brazil continues to produce a large number of stars. The country produces many good and excellent players, but few exceptional ones, at the level of the best in the world in their positions.

England and France are now the two strongest teams in Europe. Despite the main English teams prioritizing the hiring of great foreign players, the English team has evolved a lot, with the increasing presence of special players.

Strikers Kane, Saka and Rashford are among the best in the world at their positions. There are also other good attackers like Sterling, Folden and Grealish. The young and brilliant midfielder Bellinghan, who acts from one intermediary to the other, plays for Borussia Dortmund, in Germany, and is sought after by the main teams in the world.

France is the team with the greatest number of excellent players in the three sectors of the field. Even so, he missed Benzema a lot in the Cup, which announced the end of his career in the national team. Kanté and Pogba have not played due to injuries. They are also missed when they play the best they can. Griezmann reinvented himself in the current selection. Before he was just an attacking midfielder. Now he returns to score, build plays and score goals.

Argentina and Messi lived in the ideal world at the World Cup, the splendor of a passion that will be eternal, with no date to end on the field, since Messi shows no signs of ending his career in the national team. Something similar happens with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, although in a less exuberant way and with some friction.

Cristiano, 38 years old, was a substitute in some Cup games, when he seemed to have ended his cycle in the national team. The coach changed and he returned to being a starter and scoring goals, despite the very weak opponents, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Argentina depends more on Messi than Portugal depends on Cristiano Ronaldo.

I have the impression, but I could be wrong, that Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently playing in Saudi Arabia, wants to remain in the national team in order to maintain his prestige worldwide. The coach, if he wants to replace him with a young man, thinking about the 2026 World Cup, will have enormous difficulties.

time passes

In the last 15 years I had the privilege of watching, enjoying the presence of stars like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Mbappé. I also saw Pelé, Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Didi, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Gerson, Zico, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Romário and others for many decades. They are great players, from several generations, who illuminate football.

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