As hosts Brazil qualified automatically for the World Cup and come into the tournament as the current holders of the Confederations Cup, which they won comfortably last summer. Drawn in a favourable group and with home crowd advantage, Brazil should easily make it through the group stage and finish in first place.
Weather conditions
Weather shouldn’t be an issue for the home nation but they do have one game in the humid conditions of Fortaleza all be it an 8pm local time kick off.
Starting line-up
4-2-3-1 : GK Cesar; RB Dani Alves, CB Thiago Silva (c), CB Luiz, LB Marcelo; DM Gustavo, CM Paulinho, AM Oscar; RWF Hulk, LWF Neymar, CF Fred.
Scolari is very loyal and will stick with the team that did the business in the Confederations Cup. The team plays with the attacking flair associated with Brazil but under Scolari he has built a solid defensive foundation first, making them tough to beat. Width is provided by attacking fullbacks Dani Alves and Marcelo and the team relies on the playmaking ability of Oscar as well as moments of magic from Neymar to win games.
Scolari has also brought the team together and moulded it into a cohesive unit often sacrificing flair (most notably Ronaldinho and Robinho) for players with a hard working team ethic that tend to bring the best out of the few flair players in the team, Fred is the best example of this, playing in the number nine role with his back to goal he really helps to bring the best out of Neymar and this in turn helps the team. Scolari has made the team much better defensively with only three goals conceded against top level teams during the five game Confederations Cup tournament.
Fantasy breakdown
Brazil chould go all the way in this tournament. with no nasty weather conditions, three very winnable games and home crowd advantage Brazil should sail into the last 16, setting up a possibly tricky tie with Chile, Holland or even Spain. Getting a few Brazilians in your line-up from the start would be advisable.
Neymar is the obvious choice, the Brazilian nation is pinning their hopes on the mercurial talents of the 22-year-old, he set the tone for the Brazil’s success at the Confederations Cup with a screaming half volley within five minutes of the opening game last summer and ended the tournament with four goals and four assists.
Fred is the gamble here with most teams only including one of Fred or Neymar in their initial line-ups. Likely to be much cheaper than Neymar, Fred may prove to be better value, he has proved to be an integral part of the Brazil team under Scolari, scoring five goals including two in the final against Spain in the Confederations Cup. More importantly he also brings the best out of Neymar and will be starting come June 12th.
Oscar lost his starting berth at place Chelsea last season but will be a sure fire starter in Brazil. For the national team he is tasked with the playmaking duties, playing in the hole behind the striker he has the talent to produce plenty of assists. His penchant for a long range effort could see him sneak a few extra points from goals. Hopefully the lack of game time at Chelsea this season will have him fresh for the tournament. With the other two midfield options being more defensive minded in Gustavo and Paulinho, Oscar should be the Brazilian midfielder of choice.
The Brazilian defence and keeper could be a handy addition to your fantasy team during the group stage with Croatian striker Mario Manzukic suspended for opening match against them and with lacklustre attacks in the form of Cameroon and Mexico there could be clean sheets a plenty. With defensive points looking likely the two fullbacks offer the most potential attacking rewards as well, right back Dani Alves loves a long range shot and playing basically as winger as he does for his club he should be the defender of choice for Brazil though if left back Marcelo is at discounted price he could turn out to better value than his fellow full back.