Neymar, Firmino To Lead Brazil Attack Against Super Eagles

Neymar and Roberto Firmino will spearhead Brazil’s attack during Sunday’s international friendly against Nigeria, according to coach Tite.

The South Americans face the Super Eagles for the second time ever as they fine-tune their strategy for the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification campaign.

Both players were handed a place in Selecao’s starting XI in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Senegal, with Firmino handing Brazil a ninth-minute lead before Aliou Cisse’s men levelled the scores through Famara Diedhiou’s penalty.

Addressing the media during Saturday’s pre-match briefing, the 58-year-old explained his line-up.

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“We will play with two strikers, Neymar and Firmino, and two men on the side,” Tite told media.

“It will open up a bigger area of action in the offensive phase. Neymar has been playing like that for PSG a lot.

“After leaving Barcelona, he has been used in a central position.”

Against Nigeria, Tite is expected to change formation, with Everton Cebolinha and Gabriel Jesus getting offensive roles.

“For me, football is balance,” he continued. “When a team is overly defensive or offensive, you suffer.

“Balancing the team is our challenge. And this must be shown not just in theory, but on the field.”

Nigeria, who boast just one win from their past four games will use the encounter billed for the Singapore National Stadium as a warmup for November’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with Benin Republic and Lesotho.