Gabriel Jesus Vs Roberto Firmino: As we slowly head towards the Copa America 2020 and eventually the World Cup 2022 to be held in a couple of years’ time, every footballing nation across the globe will want to work on fortifying their strengths and omitting their weaknesses. France, the current champions of the world will want to retain their title on the grand stage next time around, while the other nations try to hunt them down and crown a new winner.
One top nation which will be hoping to bring back its days of glory for sure will be South American hotshots Brazil.The Selecao will be hoping to make a strong impact in the upcoming tournament, after a rather meek performance in the previous version of it. Brazil, who won the Copa America title after twelve long years last year, will want to continue to retain their supremacy over South America as well.
Tite’s side has been struggling with quite a few problems over the years and will now want to go out and sort things out. Brazil will be hoping to lift their 22nd Copa America and sixth World Cup title, as they look to reclaim the top spot in the world and showcase their supremacy once again.
However, the biggest problem that the most successful team in World Football faces at present is that they do not have a prolific goal-scorer upfront. Though one can’t deny the fact that Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus have been doing a decent job at their respective clubs, they are nowhere close to being at their very best.
In fact, Roberto Firmino hasn’t been able to score a single goal for the Merseyside outfit at Anfield this season. He has a tally of 16 goals overall this term, with five goals for his national side. At the club level, he has scored 11 goals in total, which are all away from home. Though he has scored some crucial goals like in the Club World Cup semis and final, his overall scoring rate has really dipped this term.
Further, when Roberto Firmino wasn’t scoring, his game had that creative edge, which has been lost this season. He has been so lost in playing the false-nine role that he has lost sight of goal, on occasions when he should be scoring simple goals. This has been a main problem for the Merseyside outfit and could hurt the Brazilian national side as well.
On the other hand, Gabriel Jesus has developed more into a chance-wasting attacker. Out of the multiple chances that Manchester City have been creating upfront, he has managed to score a bear-minimum and is nowhere close to Sergio Aguero’s class.
Out of an astonishing 29 shots on target in the Premier League this season, he has only managed to convert nine times in 21 appearances (out of which he has featured nine times as a sub). That is a 33.3% conversion rate, which is just not good enough for a top Brazilian side. Though his rate of conversion is way better in the Champions League, the games have been quite limited there. His overall form can’t really support his case of helping his team lift the World Cup any time soon.
With both the first team strikers struggling for goals in the current campaign and slowly dropping their form with each passing game, things do not look too bright for Brazil and Tite. The likes of Neymar Jr. and Philippe Coutinho were the best outlet for goals in the last World Cup in France. Further, the likes of Richarlison and Everton Soares shined in the last tournament in their home country, to help them win yet another title.
Despite that, the team needs some fresh blood and energy to be now induced amongst their ranks. Maybe the likes of Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli could be the answer to a lot of unanswered prayers, as they look to defend their Copa America title in June this year.
