Four forwards or three midfielders? Ancelotti keeps both options open

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti is not ready to pick a favourite.

Brazil’s 4-2-4 had served a clear purpose in the first game against Australia, putting four forwards on the pitch and allowing the Selecao to play with the attacking variety that comes with having so much firepower up front. But it also left the midfield exposed at times, with Brazil struggling to control the game or create enough from the middle.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

So, for Tuesday’s rematch in Brisbane, Ancelotti changed shape. Brazil moved to a more conventional 4-3-3, adding an extra body to midfield with Danilo, Bruno Guimaraes and Gabriel Bontempo. The change helped Brazil find more control as they eventually beat Australia 4-2, although the game itself was hardly a tactical stroll.

“We had difficulties, but we also showed good quality of play,” Ancelotti told Globo after the game. “We started well, then we slowed down a bit. But, in the second half, I think the team reacted well.”

The Italian, however, was not prepared to declare the 4-3-3 a better fit.

“I don't know (if it worked better). I don't think it's the right time to say which system is best,” Ancelotti said.

And that is probably the point of this early stage of his Brazil tenure. He is not simply trying to settle on a formation; he is trying to find out what this squad can offer him.

The 4-2-4 remains useful for a side with Brazil’s wealth of attacking options. It encourages direct, vertical football, allows the forwards to press high and can create overloads out wide. But with four attackers ahead of two midfielders, there is a risk of being outnumbered centrally -- an issue Brazil could not always overcome in the first meeting with Australia, and even suffered from during the World Cup. 

The 4-3-3 gives Ancelotti another way of addressing that balance. It can strengthen the midfield without necessarily sacrificing the attacking threat. For now, he wants both.

“We have, overall, a quality of players with whom we can continue working with the system from the first game and also this system,” he said.

There is another reason for the experimentation. Ancelotti believes Brazil currently lack enough young midfielders coming through, which makes testing players such as Breno and Bontempo particularly important.

“Right now, at this moment we don't have much production from young midfielders,” he said. “Therefore, Breno, Gabriel (Bontempo), who played today, we'll look at them and see if other young players can show their quality in midfield.”

So the formation debate is likely to continue. For Ancelotti, that is not a problem. It is part of the job at this stage of the cycle.

“The approach is very clear,” he said. “We'll follow both approaches: the system with four forwards and the system with three midfielders.”