Pressure mounts on struggling Brazil but coach sees progress

Brazil coach Dorival Jr insists they are making progress despite sitting fifth in the standings ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Peru.

The five-time World Cup winners have been grappling with mounting pressure after winning only two of their last five games amid a series of poor performances.

They were held to back-to-back 1-1 draws against Venezuela and Uruguay in their last two outings, but Dorival is hopeful they will rediscover their identity and get back to winning ways when they host Colombia in the capital Brasilia on Thursday.

"We are responsible for the team's current form and for everything that has happened," Dorival told a press conference on Wednesday.

"We are looking to recover in a competition that is getting harder every year and to get back to being consistent we will need to restructure ourselves once and for all and seek organisation to have a good defence and an efficient attack.

"I would be more concerned than I am today if I didn't see progress despite the latest results... We are trying to make corrections so that the next results can be different, but there is progress, even though many do not want to see it..."

Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years, since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.

Dorival was appointed in early 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA tried and failed to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.

Dorival has so far failed to earn the trust of Brazil's demanding fans after winning only six of 14 games in charge, including a lacklustre Copa America campaign, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay.

Brazil are fifth in the standings on 18 points, one point ahead of Paraguay and one behind Colombia and Ecuador. Uruguay are second on 20 points while Argentina are top on 25 points. Only the top six are guaranteed a berth at the 2026 World Cup finals.

They will face Colombia with seven players who could miss Tuesday's game in Argentina if they receive a yellow card, including key starters such as Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes and Gabriel Magalhaes.

In the South American Qualifiers, two yellow cards result in an automatic suspension.

Brazil will be without talisman Neymar, who was set to make a long-awaited comeback following over a year recovering from a knee ligament tear but was ruled out last week with a muscle injury.

Dorival was tight-lipped about his team selection, but heaped praise on Brighton & Hove Albion forward Joao Pedro.

"Regarding Neymar, it is only natural that we put all our efforts into building a team around a player like him... It ended up not happening and I hope that he recovers soon," Dorival said.

"Joao Pedro is very versatile, a forward that has been playing sometimes as a striker, others as a second forward... He can be an asset but we have options."