Call it luxury or birthright, but Brazil’s fortune is such that it can rest most of its regulars and still field an absurd starting lineup that, were it a nation itself, might very well have qualified for this World Cup on its own. That group dominated possession and scoring chances in the first half against Cameroon, but it did not dominate on the scoreboard, which somehow remained at 0-0 through the first 45 minutes.
Brazil has already qualified for the knockout stage, affording it the freedom and flexibility to experiment as its manager, Tite, sees fit. So out went nine starters, and in came the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Antony, who probed Cameroon’s back line with searching balls and creativity.