🇧🇷 Brazil take on Croatia before Copa call-up, all you need to know

Final stretch of preparation!

Brazil takes the field this Tuesday (31) at 9 p.m. (Brasília time) to face Croatia.

The clash, which marks the first meeting between the national teams since Brazil’s elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, will be held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, United States.

More than just a chance for revenge, the match represents coach Carlo Ancelotti’s final “testing ground.”

After this fixture, the next friendlies (against Panama and Egypt) will already feature the 26 players who will be on the final World Cup squad list.

Brazil heads into the match under pressure after a 2-1 defeat to France last Thursday (26).

Croatia, meanwhile, comes in with momentum after a win by the same score over Colombia.

The game will also mark the debut of Brazil’s new home kit, featuring the controversial yellow shirt and blue shorts.

Where to watch Brazil vs. Croatia:

• Free-to-air TV: TV Globo (commentary by Luis Roberto, with analysis from Júnior and Denílson).
• Pay TV: sportv (commentary by Luiz Carlos Jr., with analysis from Eric Faria and Ricardinho).
• Internet/Streaming: ge (live and real-time coverage) and getv (commentary by Jorge Iggor, with analysis from Bruno Formiga and Luana Maluf).

Probable Lineups

Brazil 🇧🇷

Coach: Carlo Ancelotti

With medical issues and the need for testing, Ancelotti is expected to make five changes compared to the team that faced France.

Ibañez and Luiz Henrique are expected to replace the injured Wesley and Raphinha.

In defense, Marquinhos returns in place of Bremer. In midfield, Danilo takes Andrey Santos’ spot, while João Pedro replaces Gabriel Martinelli, moving Vini Jr. wider on the left.

However, the expectation is that goalkeeper Bento will also get a chance in the rotation implemented by the coach.

Probable lineup

Ederson (Bento); Ibañez, Marquinhos, Léo Pereira and Douglas Santos; Casemiro and Danilo; Luiz Henrique, Matheus Cunha, João Pedro and Vini Jr.

Unavailable: Alisson, Gabriel Magalhães, Alex Sandro, Raphinha and Wesley (ruled out)

Croatia 🇭🇷

Coach: Zlatko Dalic

With 13 players remaining from the 2022 clash in Qatar, Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia promises a different tactical setup.

The team is expected to abandon the back three used against Colombia and switch to a 4-2-3-1, marking star Luka Modrić’s return to the starting lineup.

Probable lineup: Livaković; Stanisić, Sutalo, Ćaleta-Car and Jakić; Modrić and P. Sucić; Kramarić, Baturina and Perisić; Budimir.
Unavailable: Gvardiol and Kovacic (injured).

Officiating crew (from the U.S.):

• Referee: Armando Villarreal
• Assistant referees: Ryan Graves and Kali Smith
• VAR: Michael Radchuk

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

Original Article