Uruguay v Brazil is a battle of Bielsa versus Diniz and order against chaos

This is more than a World Cup qualifier. It’s a fight between a systems manager and a coach who asks players to be creative

By Jamie Hamilton and Tom Sanderson

Brazil could not have enjoyed a better start to the Fernando Diniz era than their 5-1 trouncing of Bolivia in their opening World Cup qualifier in September. Rodrygo and Neymar both scored twice, with the latter surpassing their fellow Santos academy product Pelé in the country’s all-time scoring ranks. Diniz is on a personal crusade to bring joy back to the Brazilian people and make them relish watching the Seleção again. He briefly achieved this in Belém, where a boisterous crowd roared on the team and looked genuinely pleased by a rare chance to see them up close.

A stuttering 1-0 win over Peru in Lima in his second match showed there is still work to be done, but the visit of Venezuela to Cuiabá last Thursday night should have been the perfect opportunity to get things back on track. Like Belém, the city in Mato Grosso is way off the beaten track – it is closer to Bolivia than Rio or São Paulo. Fans in the Arena Pantanal were lively from the start and sang about not having seen the team for 20 years. By full time, though, things had turned sour. Brazil were booed off after a 1-1 draw, with Neymar having a pack of popcorn thrown at his head.