Brazil’s struggle for World Cup qualification is in keeping with recent history, insists Dunga

Brazil have fallen out of the 2018 World Cup qualification spots on the CONMEBOL table, but coach Carlos Dunga has remained calm, pointing out that the South American giants have always struggled in the qualification rounds.

The Selecao’s most recent disappointing result was a 2-2 draw against Paraguay, which was only salvaged after a late strike from FC Barcelona right-back Dani Alves for the visitors. In fact, Paraguay, who are level on points with the Brazilians on the qualification table, were 2-0 up at one point after Dario Lezcano and Edgar Benitez scored on either side of the half time break.

However, Dunga believes that his his side showed great spirit to make a comeback in the game. He was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying, “The beauty of football is that the next match ours is against the leader.

“It will always depend on ourselves. The heats itself, have always been complicated, from 82, 86, 90, 94… and this will be even more complicated.

“When I spoke after the last game (a 2-2 draw with Uruguay) we needed to have technical quality with the ball and we have to be more physical when we are without the ball, that was it.”

Are Brazil still a great side?

The Brazilians have come to be known for the freeflowing style of their football over the years. In fact, they have never really had a dearth of technically good football players in their squad. However, there has been a definite decrease in the quality in the Brazil team after their triumph at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan.

The most recent example of their failings was the 7-1 hammering they suffered at the hands of eventual champions Germany at the semi-final of the 2014 World Cup. It was a clear indication that the great footballing nation that has won the World Cup a record five times is not as good as they once were. With Brazil struggling to even qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, it will be interesting to see whether Dunga manages to breathe new life into his stale team.