admin“We have been working towards finding the ideal national team,” he told reporters after the 2014 hosts outclassed Japan in the Polish city of Wroclaw.
“We’ve hit a few obstacles on the way, but now are getting closer to what we have been hoping for.
“It’s obvious that scoring 10 goals in two games is a lot, something out of the ordinary, but the important thing is what the team did to produce those goals.
“Those results are to the credit of the team which is taking shape.”
Menezes took over at a point where Brazil’s production line of world class players appeared to have dried up.
A shortage of creative midfielders had forced Dunga to depend on Kaka at the 2010 World Cup, even though he was not fully fit after a series of injuries.
Menezes initially placed his hopes on playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso but he was overhyped by the media, plagued by injuries and then fell out with his club Santos.
Although Brazil have won most of their games under Menezes, they were knocked out of last year’s Copa America at the quarter-final stage, failed to win an Olympic gold and have lost high-profile friendlies to Mexico, Germany and Argentina.
However, the emergence of Chelsea midfielder Oscar and the return of Kaka, who scored against Iraq and Japan on his first Brazil appearances since 2010, have given Menezes plenty of cause for optimism.
Another key has been the recent introduction of Paulinho alongside Ramires which has given Brazil two defensive midfielders with the ambition and ability to attack, a contrast to the purely destructive pairings employed in the past.
Menezes even believes that he can now play without a conventional centre forward, something he had discarded only three months ago.
“We have been working on this idea of leaving the team without a reference point for a long time. It hadn’t really worked out but now we have midfielders who allow this,” he said.
Menezes said that the presence of Hulk alongside Neymar in attack also gave Brazil a physical presence.
“We have three attacking technical players (Oscar, Kaka, Neymar), but you can’t make a team just with players with those characteristics,” he said.
“Hulk has physical power, he produces a different kind of threat and he complements the other three.”
Meanwhile, Argentina’s world class forwards were instrumental in a 2-1 away win over Chile on Tuesday that gave the visitors a three-point lead in the standings as the South American World Cup qualifying campaign takes a break until March.
Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain struck within minutes of each other half an hour into the match, taking their personal tallies to seven, with Chile pulling one back through substitute Felipe Gutierrez in added time at the end of the game.
Argentina have 20 points from nine matches, three more than Ecuador, who drew 1-1 away at Venezuela, and four ahead of Colombia, who have a game in hand.
They rode their luck in the opening half hour when Chile created several chances, then showed superior finishing to settle the match.
“We have forwards of huge standing who normally never forgive (mistakes). Argentina were sharper with their finishing,” Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said.
“We knew Chile would take the ball from us a lot and we had to be very concentrated in defence.”
Travelling is a risky business in the tight nine-nation South American group, so Argentina have taken out good insurance with Tuesday’s win because anything can happen in the remaining seven rounds of matches next year.
Uruguay, the top South American team at the 2010 finals in South Africa where they finished fourth, lost 4-1 to Bolivia in La Paz, where striker Carlos Saucedo bagged a hat-trick.
The Uruguayans, renowned for their strong defence, have conceded 11 goals in their last three away matches and taken one point out of a possible 12, yet are in fifth place.
Fifth is good enough for a play-off, just like three years ago when they needed to beat Costa Rica over two legs to pick up the last berth for South Africa.
“We still have chances (of qualifying). If Bolivia, who had five points, thought about going to the World Cup and will continue thinking that with this victory, why can’t we with 12 points?” coach Oscar Tabarez said.
“We made mistakes that make us think we’re not well, but we also did things that make us realise we’re not bad,” he told reporters after his team struggled in the thin air of La Paz.
Fourth-placed Venezuela, looking to reach the finals for the first time, and bottom team Paraguay are separated by a mere five points, underlining how little it takes for a side to appear to have slipped in or out of contention.
Venezuela returned to action after a bye on Friday and were held to a 1-1 draw by Ecuador in Puerto La Cruz but the point was enough to enter the top four who qualify directly for the 2014 finals in Brazil. — Rtrs.
Online Reporter