Brazil are Copa America champions. Now what?

Welcome back to the Brazil Sports newsletter. Brazil are champions! A tense 3-1 win over Peru on Sunday earned Tite’s men the Copa America trophy, and we take a look at where the national team goes from here. We also have our Copa America Best XI for you to agree or disagree with. Elsewhere, there are the latest developments in the saga of the 2016 Chapecoense air disaster, and Olympic corruption investigations. Happy reading!

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Copa America champions. Now what?

After Brazil’s 2-0 semi-final win over Argentina midweek, reputable sources within the Brazilian press reported that regardless of the result in the Copa America final, head coach Tite was seriously considering his future in charge of the national team.

The reason would be the dismantling of his coaching staff, with Edu Gaspar taking an executive role at Arsenal, Sylvinho taking charge at Lyon, and analyst Fernando Lázaro set to join him at the French club.

Now, the Copa América is in the bag, and Tite has a decision to make.

This scenario is quite a turnaround from earlier in the year, when it was rumored that if Brazil failed to win the Copa America on home soil, Tite would be sent packing. Now, the manager is holding all of the cards.

Since taking the reins of the national team in mid-2016, Tite has led Brazil in 42 matches, 23 of them competitive. His record has been solid: 17 wins, five draws, and only one defeat—coming at the hands of Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Despite the consistent record, the team has gone through some changes in this three-year period, revolving around the 2018 World Cup.

Tite took over a Brazil side which had just been eliminated from the Copa America at the hands of Peru and were struggling woefully in World Cup qualifying. He rallied them to nine straight qualifying wins and they ended up topping the group comfortably. Going into the big stage in Russia, they were among the favorites to win the whole thing.

A crucial point along this journey was a friendly match against a second-string England side in November 2017. Brazil expected to record a convincing win against a top—yet weakened—European side, but their opponents defended deep and resiliently and...