By Blake Thomsen

Brazilian football has long been synonymous with dazzling attacking play. Past Brazilian sides have played some of the most magnificent football the world has ever seen, embodied most famously by Carlos Alberto’s “perfect goal” in the 1970 World Cup final.

But the current Brazil squad—though certainly not lacking in the flair department—is built upon sturdy defensive play. This goes far beyond simply having world-class defenders (which, admittedly, Brazil does have in abundance). It’s also strongly about a front-to-back tactical element that Brazil executes with clinical efficiency.

When the Brazilians stormed to the Confederations Cup trophy last summer, most observers justifiably focused on their attacking display, which produced 14 goals in just five games. Neymar and Oscar were particularly impressive, as Neymar delivered a Golden Ball-winning performance and Oscar outshined Spain’s host of brilliant playmakers. However, that duo’s defensive contributions were perhaps even more important than their considerable offensive efforts, and therein lay the secret to Brazil’s overwhelming success in the tournament.

Somewhat stunningly, Neymar (17) and Oscar (14) committed more fouls than any other player in the event. Neither is the type to foul opposing defenders when jostling for possession on long balls, as a physical center forward might. Instead, the bulk of their fouls came via a crucial tactic of manager Luis Felipe Scolari’s called “tactical fouling,” which played an essential part in Brazil’s outstanding defensive record of just three goals conceded in five games.

The goal of tactical fouling rests on a simple premise: once you’ve lost the ball in your attacking half when you’ve committed numbers forward, foul the opposition before they can mount an attack against your unset defense. The Brazilians are absolute masters of this art—an art that is perfectly embodied by flair players Neymar and Oscar leading the Confederations Cup in fouls—and it is debatably the most important factor in their quest for the World Cup trophy.

Scolari knows his world-class defense is nearly impossible to break down when it is set, and thus he instructs his players to instantly foul in their attacking half once they lose the ball. This ensures that Brazil’s back four, as well as its two holding midfielders, are virtually always in place when the opponent enters Brazil’s defensive half.

Brazil’s tactical fouling has functionality similar to the full-court press utilized by basketball teams trailing in the waning minutes of games. As in basketball, Brazil will “go for the steal” first, which can occasionally lead to turnovers and easy scoring chances the other way. But more often than not, like basketball teams have to do, the Brazilians realize that they cannot cleanly win the ball and thus resort to a quick, harmless foul to stop play. Of course, the wonderful part is there are no free throws in soccer. Brazil’s fouls merely stop play and allow them to get more settled on defense.

In the Confederations Cup, this strategy led to Brazil comfortably leading the tournament in fouls. Intuitively, one would think that Brazil, with all of its tricky dribblers and steady stream of dangerous attacks, would draw the most fouls. Instead, Brazil’s tactical fouling meant it out-fouled four of its five opponents in an event held in its own country.

When faced with high-class opposition, Brazil turned up the heat even more, out-fouling Italy 27-18 and Spain 26-16. Each of those games was a masterclass in its own right. Against Italy, all three of Brazil’s attacking midfielders picked up five fouls each, demonstrating the consistency with which Brazil’s attackers stopped Italy high up the field. Brazil’s attacking midfield trio managed “only” seven fouls in the final against Spain, but that was still five more than Spain’s Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and David Silva committed — combined —for the entire tournament.

The Spain match also saw another key tenet of tactical fouling: yellow card avoidance. Of Brazil’s 26 fouls, not a single one was deemed worthy of a booking. Meanwhile, Spain committed just 16 fouls but picked up two yellows and a red. Gerard Piqué’s red (seen below) is an archetypal example of the type of jailbreak situation Brazil desperately tries to avoid, and almost always does, by fouling before a counter can even develop.

For a team like Brazil, the benefits of tactical fouling are wide-ranging, while the drawbacks are almost nonexistent. Primarily, tactical fouling allows Brazil to throw numbers forward in attack, but to do so without the inherent risk that comes from having so many players up the field. With such great numbers in the attacking half, Brazil almost always has someone close enough to the ball to foul once possession is lost.

If teams try to counter the aggressive fouling by quickly playing long balls forward, Brazil’s towering center back duo of David Luiz and Thiago Silva awaits. Both are exceptional athletes who are equally comfortable winning headers near the halfway line or retreating to deal with longer balls played over the top. If Brazil had less athletic center backs, say, Per Mertesacker with his lack of pace or Javier Mascherano with his questionable aerial ability, the system would have a significant flaw. But with Luiz and Silva (and Dante ready on the bench), Brazil’s tactical fouling is almost unbeatable.

Moreover, Brazil is able to freely tactically foul without significant risk of seeing players even yellow-carded, let alone sent off, as Piqué was for Spain. Because the fouls are committed in such non-threatening areas of the pitch, referees hardly ever issue cards for the fouls. Of course, refs are empowered to account for persistent fouling by booking players for “one too many” fouls, but that’s where this specific Brazil team can (and will) game the system in a big way.

As Ted Knutson explained in his recent column, Brazil will enjoy a massive home-field advantage at this World Cup. The roar of the crowd and the familiar playing conditions will be nice, but as studies have shown for years, favorable refereeing is the most crucial factor in home-field advantage. For a team that is likely to lead the tournament in fouls, that refereeing advantage will be disproportionately magnified.

It’s not complete avoidance of fouls that will be most helpful to Brazil—though that definitely won’t hurt. Instead, it’s the freedom of its players to commit as many fouls as they please without risking yellow cards, which take on additional importance with the World Cup’s silly suspension rules (drawing a yellow in two separate matches forces you to sit out the next match, with the yellow-card count resetting after group play).

In the Confederations Cup, Brazilian players picked up just two yellows on tactical fouls (Neymar and Luis Gustavo both for highly cynical challenges against Italy), and none for foul accumulation, even against Italy when all three attacking midfielders committed five each. Watch out if they get similarly preferable treatment in the World Cup.

With incredible athletes all over the field and world-class talent up front, Brazil would be a formidable squad in any World Cup location with any tactical system. Combine the excess of talent with a brilliant tactical element that is uniquely suited to utilizing a potentially historic home-field advantage, and you have a recipe for a team that just might be unplayable.

@blakecthomsen is a contributing editor at American Soccer Now.