One of Brazil‘s main problems in their World Cup opener against Morocco was in the right-back position.
The Selecao struggled against the Atlas Lions especially in the first half. Mohamed Ouahbi’s men managed to control possession for the first 15 minutes and even without the ball created more danger than the five-time world champions.
Squawka highlighted the midfield battle as the main advantage Morocco had. Ayyoub Bouaddi and Neil El Aynaoui bossed the middle of the park while Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes couldn’t calm things down for Brazil or get them forward.
And though the soon-to-be former Manchester United man was one of Brazil’s worst performers that day and didn’t come back from half-time, neither did another footballer who played even worse.
Al-Ahli’s Roger Ibanez got the nod as the Selecao’s starting right-back following Wesley’s withdrawal from the squad due to injury. But it didn’t go as well as Carlo Ancelotti probably hoped.
What can Brazil do to improve in the right-back position?
Ibanez’s on-ball struggles vs. Morocco
Of course, we must start by saying Ibanez is originally a centre-back. It helps to explain some part of his struggles against a light and skillful side such as the Atlas Lions.
And Ancelotti might stick with him as the starting right-back because the tendency is that things get easier for the remainder of the group stage. Haiti and Scotland don’t pose the same wide threats as Morocco and it’s the opportunity to let the 27-year-old figure things out.
But it doesn’t change the fact the he affected Brazil negatively on both ends of the pitch. Let’s start with the attacking side of things.
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He had a poor showing with the ball at his feet, offering little threat or directness with his passes. He had no confidence to risk and when tried more incisive passes, nothing came out of it.
Not only that, but also led to Morocco getting a counter-attack that ended in Ismael Saibari’s delightful finish to open the scoring.
Lucas Paqueta got most of the blame for losing possession. But it was Ibanez’s pass that put him in a delicate spot.
His rough performance also meant that Brazil were often trapped. As we mentioned in our post-match coverage, Morocco managed to induce the Selecao to playing more from the right early on as opposed to their preferred left-sided combinations, looking for Vinicius Junior’s runs.
Brahim Diaz, the right-midfielder, stayed higher up the pitch than Bilal El Khannouss on the left. As a result, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had no choice but to go to the other flank. And nothing came out of there, mainly due to Ibanez – Paqueta also didn’t help too much, especially early on.
Consequently, their defence had to look for long balls for Igor Thiago and Raphinha as a last resort. But it also led to nothing.
Defensive mismatch
On the defensive end, which should be his strength, it was even worse. Of course, it’s hard for a centre-back to mark shify wingers for long periods. But Ibanez is a mobile defender who should do better than he did.
Luckily for him, Morocco looked more for the right-hand side. Because Noussair Mazraoui and especially Bilal El Khannouss, had a lot of success playing down the left.
Squad selection issues
Danilo steadied the ship, so to speak, in the second half. But he made the squad more due to his leadership and influence on the group than for his production on the pitch. Especially considering he has been more of a centre-back for quite a few years now.
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Considering Ancelotti has previously worked with the Flamengo defender before and seems to rate him, there is a chance he takes over and becomes Brazil’s starting right-back. It could even work against the likes of Haiti and Scotland, but it could turn into a problem in the later stages. Additionally, he is 34 years old and has suffered with injuries over the past year and a half.
Other than that, there is not much more to do. The Italian manager named centre-midfielder Ederson as Wesley’s replacement, which means Brazil don’t have an out-and-out right-back in the squad.
His options are Ibanez, Danilo and possibly Fabinho – who hasn’t played regularly as a right-back at club level since his Monaco days. Not to mention he replaced Casemiro really well and was part of why the Selecao improved in the second half against Morocco. They might need him as an alternative in the middle of the park.
So Ancelotti already had a tough scenario with Eder Militao out since April and Wesley withdrawing at the last minute. He doubled down on his initial decision to play a centre-back at right-back (Militao, then Ibanez) and chose not to call up a player from the position.
Now, he can only hope Ibanez sorts himself out or that Danilo manages to carry the load for the remainder of the tournament.
But the fact of the matter is that Morocco might have layed the path for every Brazil opponent to make their life harder as the World Cup goes.
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