Song and dance there, but where is Brazil's soul?

From swooning over the twirling foot of Richarlison the other day, to fretting over the ankle of Neymar, it is back to business for Brazil. Gone is the exultation to dance and express themselves.

- Siddharth Saxena

Doha: Instead, now Tite is adopting a serious, head-down approach, almost as if the earlier comments were merely for the camera. “I have already made my decision but will not disclose until game time,” manager Tite said, on eve of their encounter with Switzerland.

Flamboyance could make way for the factory shift. You would do the same if your couple of automatic starters – including the team’s most visible star — faces the unpleasant possibility of missing the World Cup altogether.

Neymar sported a right ankle the size of a balloon at the end of the game against Serbia. He was the most fouled player in the first round of group-stage matches, suffering nine fouls against Serbia. “One of the most difficult moments,” the striker posted on his social media platform, with snaps of his ankle. “It’s a pain, and it will hurt. Nothing in my life was easy or given to me,” he wrote.