Bad or worse: tough pick for battling host

Brazil's Fred (right) was castigated for his play against Mexico. Photo / AP

Brazil is fighting to stay alive, and the strikers aren’t helping

The nation that has won five World Cups, that produced Pele, Romario and Ronaldo, is now wondering whether to play Fred or Jo in attack against Cameroon on Tuesday.

After poor performances in their first two games - a fortunate 3-1 win over Croatia and a dire 0-0 draw with Mexico - Brazil are starting to fear that their bluntness might stand between them and the home World Cup triumph they want so badly.

Neymar, the hero of the team, has played well but Fred, who has started twice, has almost vandalised his teammate's good work.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was left complaining on Wednesday night, as he walked out of the post-match press conference in Fortaleza, that the media was too critical of Fred.

Scolari will not have liked yesterday's newspapers. The front of the World Cup section in O Globo bemoaned "No Inspiration", and Eduardo Tironi, writing in Lance!, called it a "a terrible performance", as "the team managed to play even worse than they did against Croatia".

One bad display would have been manageable, explained away by nerves, but two in a row is problematic. It is common to downplay Brazil teams as lacking the star quality that made them so great in the past, but surely none has ever been as deficient up front as this one.

Fred, seemingly the best Brazil have got, must be their worst No9 in a generation. Although he repaid the faith Scolari showed in him in the Confederations Cup last year with five goals, the 30-year-old has been in poor form since, scoring once for Brazil in the last 12 months.

Against Croatia he was dismal, his one contribution being to fall over in the vicinity of Dejan Lovren, for which Brazil were awarded the penalty that put them in front.

That should have been warning enough but Fred kept his place against Mexico. The performance, against a brilliantly organised side, was far worse.

Fred needed to be at his sharpest to unsettle Mexico's three centre-backs but was alarmingly immobile. On the rare occasions he lumbered towards goal, he was inevitably caught offside, and he left the 22-year-old Neymar running into a forest of red shirts time after time.

The Brazilian media were understandably unimpressed. Fred was awarded an average score of 4.2; only Paulinho, with 3.7, did worse. "You only noticed him when he got taken off," wrote Roberto Assaf, awarding him 4 in Lance!. "He didn't lead the line, and as for his goalscoring!"

Tironi was just as harsh, condemning his lack of movement and also awarding him 4: "Didn't even manage to create a penalty this time. Absent on the pitch, even while trying to move more."

There was a slight improvement when Jo came on for Fred with 22 minutes to go, the Atletico Mineiro striker willing, at the very least, to show for the ball and try to run in behind the Mexico back-line.

He is not great but does look far more comfortable in his own game now, having won the Copa Libertadores with Atletico last year, than he did during his difficult time with Manchester City and Everton.

But Jo is not exactly an inspiring alternative and is still far away from the required standard.

Scolari should shuffle his pack again before their last group game, their next chance to find a way to keep the dream alive.

- Independent