Brazil vs. Colombia

Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro, June 23, 2021

Kickoff: 8:00 PM EDT / 9:00 PM BRT / 12:00 AM GMT

US TV / Streaming: FS1, TUDN, Univision

Likely Starting Lineup: It’s a mystery!!!! (But Weverton will start in goal.)

Notes And Storylines

Colombia have recently been one of our toughest opponents in South America, but since we are already guaranteed passage into the knockout stage (easy to do when only one team will fail to advance from the group), Tite intends to keep mixing things up and experimenting. Still, in an apparent show of respect for Colombia’s capabilities, he’s holding his starting lineup for tomorrow’s game very close to his chest. Only Weverton has been confirmed as a starter, which would leave Felipe (who’s working through an injury) and Douglas Luiz (who is maybe being preserved because he’s also in the Olympic squad) as the only players in the squad yet to see the field.

It’s thankfully been a few years since our games against Colombia inevitably turned into violent, ugly slugfests. Tite’s arrival and José Pékerman’s departure seem to have calmed things down on that front, and while I haven’t watched them recently, Colombia’s recent results suggest a side in decline. A humiliating 6-1 loss against Ecuador last year sent coach Carlos Queiroz packing, and while Copa Libertadores winner Reinaldo Rueda has righted the ship somewhat and got them great results in this month’s World Cup qualifiers, they only have two goals in three games in the Copa América. It’d be fun as hell to see a fresh, experimental Brazil lineup totally wreck their shit like Ecuador did, but I doubt they’ll let that happen again (and plus, this game’s on the same shoddy pitch that annoyed the players so much in last Thursday’s game against Peru). But I think if we’re not proactive, we run the risk of playing into Colombia’s hands and producing a grinding, low-scoring affair with only the briefest moments of magic, like that Willian goal at the top of this post from 2017. Still, we should have more than enough to win this at home. I predict Brazil 2-1 Colombia, but I’m holding out in my heart for a rather more impressive scoreline.