Amidst a storm of controversy that I’m genuinely too busy to write about, Brazil takes on Qatar in the first preparatory friendly for the Copa América.

Brazil vs. Qatar

Estádio Mané Garrincha, Brasília, June 5, 2019

Kickoff: 8:30 PM EDT / 9:30 PM BRT / 12:30 PM GMT

US TV / Streaming: BeIn Sports, FuboTV

Starting Lineup: Ederson; Dani Alves (C), Marquinhos, Miranda, Filipe Luís; Casemiro, Arthur, Coutinho; Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison.

I really can’t spare much time, so here are three brief storylines heading into this game:

  1. The rape case against Neymar fell apart as quickly as it appeared, but even if he’s completely innocent, he has a cloud over him ahead of the Copa América—not least because he added to the story by releasing nude photos of his accuser, possibly illegally. We’ve seen how badly he’s handled provocation and emotional tumult in the past, and this is easily worse than anything he’s dealt with before. And that’s not even getting into how he was stripped of the captaincy last month for punching a heckler!
  2. Tite continues to be insanely reluctant to change his A-team, evidence here by his intent to keep Coutinho as a starter despite a miserable 2019 for Barcelona and several inconsequential displays for Brazil. Perhaps he thinks that Coutinho needs to be supported and nurtured to find his best form—which is possible, but you have to think that with a major tournament looming, even Tite’s patience has its limits.
  3. Qatar are coming off a remarkable run in January’s Asian Cup, where they won all of their games while only conceding a single goal all tournament. Was it a fluke, or can they cause Brazil some problems? For now, I’m predicting a slightly underwhelming 2-0 win for Brazil, as always.