This Copa America is going to be tough for Brazil.
Because the team's star player Neymar is injured again and will not be able to return for this Copa America, there's no point in hoping for him to play.
They didn't even make it out of the group stage in the last Copa America. To be honest, the last Copa America was held a bit too frequently in 2016.
The previous term was 15 years ago.
Brazil lost in the quarterfinals that year.
In the same year, they lost again in the quarterfinals.
The last time they won the championship was in 2007.
It's been twelve years.
The Copa America has been around for twelve years, the World Cup for seventeen. Is Brazil really a football kingdom?
It's all bark and no bite.
Regardless of why the Copa America is held so frequently, whether it's to pave the way for the King of Football or something else, it's an opportunity for Brazil and also for Lin Hao. Since the competition is being held, you can't just let Argentina win.
Lin Hao also has the opportunity to showcase himself and let more teams see him.
Lin Hao's relationship with the Brazilian team has improved considerably, because now they know that Lin Hao really has the ability to be selected.
Their so-called friends are really not as capable as Lin Hao, so they can only accept that.
That is, Fernandinho, the relationship is still not good.
I have a good relationship with my sister-in-law and Fat Tiger, and the other players are alright too!
That's fine.
I've been with my Arsenal teammates for a year now, and I'm only really close with Xhaka. Saka isn't always with them either.
In this Copa America group stage, Brazil was drawn into a group with Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela.
The first match was against Bolivia.
In the first game, head coach Tite fully demonstrated his high regard for Lin Hao, after all, it was he who pulled Lin Hao out of the mud.
Brazil fielded a 4-3-3 formation, with Alisson, the Liverpool-winning goalkeeper who had just reached the pinnacle of European football and won the Champions League, in goal!
The center-back, Thiago Silva, is someone who has played alongside both Nesta and Maldini.
The other one is Marquinhos.
Left-back Felipe, right-back Alves.
The midfield trio consists of Casemiro, who plays as the defensive midfielder.
On the left and right are Coutinho and Fernandinho, respectively.
The front three consisted of Firmino, also a Liverpool player, in the middle, Richarlison on the right, and Lin Hao on the left.
It's hard to believe. Looking at it this way, it seems like Brazil's midfield and defense are more luxurious. Brazil's front line is not as luxurious as its back line. It's unbelievable.
The opposing team's formation is 4-4-1-1, which is equivalent to 4-4-2. They don't have any particularly famous players, and this formation clearly indicates that they are going to play a defensive counter-attacking style.
But this wish was dashed. In just five minutes, Lin Hao surprised the world.
The world has finally witnessed Brazilian football once again.
After the kickoff, the ball was passed to Coutinho. Coutinho then lobbed the ball to Lin Hao, who dribbled past one player before passing it to Coutinho. Coutinho, who had just run over, received the ball, dribbled a couple of times, and then lobbed it into the penalty area. Firmino pounced on the loose ball and almost scored.
Having almost lost the opening game to Brazil, Bolivia adopted an even more defensive stance.
The next time Lin Hao had the ball, he suddenly started his run from a position slightly behind the left side of the penalty area line. As he started, he flicked his ankle and passed the ball to Felipe, the left-back, who was making a run down the wing.
Felipe passed the ball across to Lin Hao, who received it inside the penalty area. It was a one-two pass, but it didn't end there. Lin Hao immediately passed the ball to Coutinho, who then dribbled forward outside the penalty area without stopping the ball. By the time Lin Hao received the ball again, he was already in front of the goal.
After two quick one-two passes with different players, Lin Hao went to the left side of the penalty area line and then moved laterally.
Such a combination could not possibly be planned tactically; it was a player's flash of inspiration. Because it was difficult, the result of its success was extremely significant. Lin Hao took a shot.
Goal!
Lin Hao ran to the sidelines, and his teammates ran over too. They celebrated together and started dancing. Then Coutinho pointed at Lin Hao and said to the camera, "Is this what you call not being able to cooperate?"
"Not bad! The Brazilians haven't lost their core values!" Lin Hao said.
Thiago Silva tapped Lin Hao's head with his finger. "Kid, if you want to say nice things, say them properly. No wonder you have so many enemies!"
"That's right, kid. Everyone wants Samba football to be good, but there's nothing we can do. There's no future for us playing football like this!"
"It's not just us fans; who doesn't want to watch the kind of beautiful football we used to watch? Who wants to watch the kind of football we play now where you don't dare to attack and I just stay in the box? But winning is the only thing that matters!"
Lin Hao understood this principle, of course, and could only sigh and lower his head.
In the 15th minute of the match, Lin Hao and his teammates combined in a short space, assisting Richarlison to score another goal.
In the 30th minute of the match, Lin Hao was brought down in the penalty area by an opposing defender, resulting in a penalty kick.
Coutinho converted the penalty, making it 3-0.
Brazil won almost effortlessly, taking a 3-0 lead in 30 minutes, effectively ending any suspense in the game.
However, the final score was 3-0.
This might be a weakness of Brazilian players: once they take the lead, they stop taking it seriously.
In the second group stage match against Venezuela, the two sides played to a goalless draw after 90 minutes, ending 0-0.
In the third group stage match, Brazil unleashed their power, defeating Peru 5-1. With two wins, one draw, and seven points, they topped the group and advanced to the next round.
There are only three groups. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, will advance.
There are eight teams in total.
They are Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Argentina.
Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru.
This results in four matchups.
In fact, Argentina is definitely the biggest favorite to win the championship, but it's also obvious that Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are the three giants of South American football, and the championship will most likely come from one of them.
But to everyone's surprise, in the quarterfinals, Peru, the third-place team in Brazil's group, held Uruguay to a 0-0 draw, and then pulled off a stunning 5-4 penalty shootout victory, sending Uruguay home.
Colombia and Chile also drew 0-0, with Chile winning 5-4 on penalties.
Argentina defeated Venezuela 2-0.
Argentina and Brazil are in one half of the bracket, while Peru and Chile remain in the other half. This means that whoever emerges from this half of the bracket between Brazil and Argentina will most likely win the Copa America trophy.
However, Brazil encountered problems in their match against Paraguay.
Paraguay played a defensive game throughout, and Lin Hao went on a scoring spree, but ultimately failed to score a single goal for the team. They had a chance at the beginning, but failed to capitalize on it. Paraguay then became more and more aggressive in their defense, holding on until the very end, with the score remaining 0-0.
Of these four matches, three ended in a 0-0 draw, with only Argentina winning in regular time!