Brazil will play out their first World Cup qualifier this weekend at the Mangueirão as they play hosts to Brazil following on from finishing top of the CONMEBOL qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup.
In the end, the five-time world champions finished six points clear of the eventual World Cup winners Argentina in last campaign’s group stages with an unbeaten record and a stunning 40 goals scored and only five let in.
Diniz observing training 🇧🇷👀pic.twitter.com/EtAyDv2Swg— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) September 5, 2023
Diniz observing training 🇧🇷👀pic.twitter.com/EtAyDv2Swg
They did, however, exit the World Cup at the quarter-finals stage after a penalty shootout loss to Croatia following a 1-1 draw that saw Neymar score once again.
Despite not playing any competitive football this season so far due to his move to Al Hilal, Neymar is still with the squad and he needs just one more goal to surpass Pele as the country's all-time leading goalscorer.
However, Vinicius Junior will be a huge miss due to injury, while Antony has been expelled from the squad.
Fred is also not with the squad after his move to Fenerbahce from Manchester United, while Fabinho has not made the squad either alongside Joao Gomes and Lucas Paqueta.
Dani Alves is also not with a club these days and consequently misses out on a callup. Alex Telles and Eder Militao are also out here alongside Bremer, Emerson and even Thiago Silva.
Nevertheless, it's still an incredibly strong Brazil setup with Gabriel Jesus, Bruno Guimarães and Casemiro, Danilo and Marquinhos.
What’s more, despite his struggles with Tottenham Hotspur, Richarlison has scored 20 goals in 44 Brazil caps and only trails Neymar as the top scorer in the current squad.
As for Bolivia, captain and the all-time leading appearances maker and goalscorer, Marcelo Martins, remains their best player and he has made the cut once more.
However, throughout the squad, goals are weak with the second top scorer in the current setup coming from defender Diego Bejarano who has three goals in 42 caps from the back.
Since the World Cup exit for Brazil, things have not exactly looked much better.
The country fell to a 2-1 loss to Morocco in a friendly back in March before going on to defeat Guinea 4-1 in Spain during the June internationals. Brazil followed this up with a 4-2 loss to Senegal.
Bolivia, however, have just one win in the past seven games, beating only Saudi Arabia and losing to the likes of Uzbekistan and Panama in 2023.
Forebet predicts a comfortable win for Brazil and the game to see over 2.5 goals.