The return of Neymar to Brazil has been a major talking point leading into Brazil’s crucial FIFA World Cup group stage clash with Scotland, as head coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the defender’s fitness to play, while keeping his options open on if he’ll be included in the squad.
Neymar, the Brazil’s talisman, has not been in competition for almost 3 years since his call-up. The 34-year-old has not yet made the cut, despite returning to the squad for the tournament, and questions have been thrown up about whether he would be fit and ready to join Brazil’s current tactics.
Ancelotti told the press before the battle at Miami Stadium that Neymar is back to full training and has been physically fit for selection. But, the Italian tactician didn’t put any pressure on them to deploy right away, indicating that he was taking a measured approach in keeping with load management and tournament-phase optimization.
“Neymar is ready and he worked this week and is ready for the match. Obviously when you have someone like him, you can count on him to help the team, we are very happy he is back and we need to have some control over him,” Ancelotti said.
Neymar will add a big element of change to Brazil’s attacking system on paper, at least in terms of performance. He has a creative play, can play at position and can run by the line of defence, making a real difference in the Brazil’s attack against a disciplined Scotland defence. That’s going to be based on real-time fitness evaluations and match-state projections, however.
On a institutional level, Brazil’s plan is a strategy of minimizing risk, which is finding a balance between use of elite players with minimizing injuries in the context of a high-density schedule.
