SAO PAULO (AP) — Whatever Brazil does at the Copa America in the United States it will come as a surprise to many.
Dorival Júnior, who took over as coach in January, has been in charge for only two friendlies and his squad for the South American soccer championship so far has provided little evidence of his plans. Added to that is the absence of aging superstar Neymar, now 32, who is out with an ACL injury.
A few Brazil team traits have been easily recognizable over the last decades. Win or lose, there’s often sharp dribblers up front, right and left backs that play from one end to the other, and strong defenders in place to score goals.
Not this time.
The one exception is Vinicius Júnior, one of the favorites for the Ballon d’Or after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and scoring in the final against Borussia Dortmund. He will be Brazil’s main star at the tournament from June 20 to July 15.
Brazil watchers don’t expect the Copa America to provide much evidence of what the team will look like at the 2026 World Cup — and to most in the country, that is the only tournament that matters. But the continental tournament is likely to give the new coach a chance to test young talents like strikers Endrick, who will be wearing the team’s historic No. 9, and Rodrygo as starters.
“It is utopia to say we are not thinking about results,” Júnior said last month, adding he has enough players to pick from despite the absences of Casemiro, Richarlison and recently injured goalkeeper Ederson.
“It doesn’t matter the age, the club, or anything else that is not each athlete’s moment. We lost 14 players to injury in the previous call, some more after they came to us. Those who played gave a great response then.”
Brazil beat England 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in March, and a few days later drew 3-3 with Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu. Júnior’s team looked quicker in transitions than the team assembled by predecessor Fernando Diniz throughout 2023. Still, those two matches did not give any hints about the team’s future.
