Brazil advanced to the World Cup last 16 with a 2-0 win over Serbia, just hours after defending champions Germany crashed out.
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Prior to Brazil’s friendly against Germany in March, coach Tite was questioned endlessly about a match dubbed the Mineirazo – the 7-1 pasting handed out by Die Mannschaft in Belo Horizonte four years ago.
That World Cup semi-final defeat brought shame upon a proud footballing nation – described as the lowest point in Brazilian football history. Lower even than the Maracanazo, in which Brazil unexpectedly lost the 1950 World Cup on home soil to Uruguay.
Tite admitted in Berlin: ‘This match has a huge psychological meaning – no one needs to fool themselves about that.
‘The 7-1 from the World Cup is like a ghost. It’s present, people still talk about it, but the more you talk about it, the less this “ghost” disappears.’
A 1-0 win was supposed to bring about closure and yet the ghost never felt truly exorcised.
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Fast forward three months and Tite must have woken more than once in a cold sweat as the prospect of a World Cup rematch in Russia loomed.
‘We cannot think about it and we’re not, I can assure you,’ Tite said on Tuesday when asked about the prospect of facing Joachim Low’s men in the first knockout round.
You sensed he was not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
So, when Germany tumbled out of the competition earlier on Wednesday, few countries will have celebrated as wildly as Brazil. It is a mental hurdle they now do not have to overcome. Revenge for the Mineirazo can wait for another day, another World Cup.
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In the first half against Serbia, it looked like an enormous weight had been lifted from Brazilian shoulders.
Neymar and Philippe Coutinho buzzed around the field with boundless exuberance. Tite said beforehand that Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, needed one more game to hit his straps after a fractured metatarsal that curtailed his debut season at Paris Saint-Germain.
If that is the case, then tournament defences should be quaking, starting with last-16 opponents Mexico.
And if Neymar’s performance was an improvement on the subdued efforts against Switzerland and Costa Rica, then Coutinho simply continued to excel.
The former Liverpool playmaker again showed the swagger of a man seemingly now aware of his high perch in the world order. He is a vital cog in the Brazil and Barcelona machines.
It was no surprise when Coutinho created the opener, lofting a pass through to clubmate Paulinho to clip in.
And while Serbia threatened in a five-minute spell in the second half, the game was over when Thiago Silva glanced home Neymar’s delivery in the 68th minute.
After that, Russia finally got to see some Brazilian swagger with one wonderful spell of possession bringing resounding cheers from the thousands clad in yellow.
That is not to say it was a perfect display. Alisson looked uncharacteristically shaky in goal while, at the other end, Gabriel Jesus again looked lost on occasion.
But, qualification secured, top spot secured, Neymar starting to sparkle and – perhaps most important of all – Germany out, Brazil seem to be flying high.