The FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia threw another surprise on Friday as five-time champions Brazil got knocked out of the tournament after being outplayed by a rampaging Belgium team in Kazan.
Brazil dominated possession throughout the game but it was Belgium who converted their chances with lethal accuracy.
Coach Tite was left to regret the missed opportunities that Brazil had in the second half and had a tough time pin-pointing the reasons for the shock loss.
“Football has a randomness but I don’t like to talk about luck,” he said. “When it is on our side it is a polite way of putting down the opponent. So I don’t believe in luck. Was Courtois lucky? No, he was great. It hit the woodwork, what can you do. Belgium were competent and effective.
“Randomness, accidents, they happen. And today they happened. It hurts to say that. That is not to undermine Belgium, who are a great team. But chance was cruel to us. It was so hard and it is very hard to accept,” Tite said after the game.
This edition has seen almost all the big names bow out early in the competition with three big teams getting knocked out in the city of Kazan. Brazil joined Argentina and Germany in the list of teams that played its final match at the Kazan Arena on Friday.
The defeat was Tite’s first in a competitive match since he took over in mid-2016 and only his second defeat overall. It was also the first time his side had allowed two goals in a game after conceding only six in their previous 25 matches.
Yet Brazil were the dominant team for much of the game, and especially in the second half when substitutes Douglas Costa and Renato Augusto ran at the Belgium defence.
Tite, though, praised their opponents – who had eight shots at goal to Brazil’s 26 – for their superior finishing.
“We had the upper hand for two-thirds of the game, a very high quality game,” he said. “Belgium turned their chances into goals. It’s very difficult to say this but it was a great game. Two very impressive teams technically.”
“With all this pain that I am feeling, this bitterness, it is difficult to talk, but those who like football took great pleasure in watching this game. What a game it was,” the 57-year-old concluded.