Why Argentina and Brazil look like title contenders for World Cup in Qatar

play

South America hasn't won a World Cup in two decades. Brazil and Argentina have met with opponents from other regions in their first warm-up meetings and it is clear that they are going to be a strong contender in the tournament.

The Italians were fortunate that the margin between them and Argentina was not greater than the one they ended up with. The match was a synthesis of the progress Argentina have made since the last World Cup, and especially since the defeat at the hands of the USA in the first game of the tournament.

They had to fight for the right to play and the absence of Leandro Paredes took away some of the flow of their passing. Argentina took over once the circuit of passing started.

They brought Lionel Messi into the game in areas of the field where he could hurt the Italians.

This has been the hallmark of Argentina over the past three years, with the ever-improving relationship between Messi and Lautaro and the flourishes added by Angel Di Maria.

Italy was overwhelmed before the half time break. Argentina won the game. Messi, who turned right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo and squared for the ball, slid in. After showing his back to goal game, he slipped Di Maria for a chip finish over Donnarumma, who should have been quicker off his line.

Donnarumma was the one who kept the score respectable in the second half. Right at the end, there was a goal from an assist by Messi.

Is it possible that you don't have Disney? Immediate access is available.

The greatest strength of this team is that Lionel Scaloni has surrounded Messi with the best structure of his international career.

The defensive unit may still be a cause for concern, despite the dramatic improvements made by the two players. Nicolas is past his prime. Italy didn't have the pace or talent to give much of a test, and it's not likely that the opponent will be too challenging.

The patterns the team can make are celebrated. Argentina had a plan in the past to give the ball to Messi. Plan B was to give the ball to Messi and hope and there was no plan C.

The relationship between the team and the player is similar. Vinicius Junior has become a world class talent, but it's not the only thing that matters. Brazil, too, have a team, which gave coach Tite many reasons to be excited about the win.

In the last few months Brazil has worked on attacking variations, and they were all on display in South Korea. Raphinha is on the right and Vinicius is on the left in this picture. Tite went back to a previous plan when Vinicius was only used for the last twenty minutes of the game. Raphinha was the one to keep his place. He used Lucas Paqueta on the right side.

It worked well. One of Brazil's first chances came from Paqueta, who was able to use the space he had to drift to the flank, with the help of his teammate. The corridor created by Paqueta was a key part of Brazil's first three goals.

Alex Sandro hit a shot that was probably goal-bound before Richarlison gave a final touch for the opener. Alex was brought down for penalties as he appeared to be surprised.

It was very hard for South Korea to play their way up the field because Brazil pressed high. They were briefly level against the run of play, as Uijo Hwang turned Thiago Silva with a shot off the far post.

There were moments of Korean threat as they tried to hit the space behind Daniel and run at the veteran right back. Brazil was able to plug the holes with Fred often showing up at the right time.

The last two goals came from players who the coach has faith in, with Philippe and Gabriel Jesus coming off the bench.

Since the 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals, they have played 100 games. They put distance between themselves and a historic humiliation and have earned the right to dream of ending a 20-year dry run in the country.