Where did it all go wrong for Brazil at the Copa America?
The Selecao went into the tournament as the second favourites, with the Opta supercomputer rating their chances of lifting the trophy at 23.2%.
Yet the nine-time Copa America champions were instead left licking their wounds after losing 4-2 to in-form Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Brazil could have avoided that tie with Marcelo Bielsa's team, and instead have faced Panama, had they shown more in the group stage.
But as it was, an opening 0-0 draw with Costa Rica and a closing 1-1 draw with Colombia, another of the Copa America's most impressive teams, meant a 4-1 win over Paraguay marked the only bright spark in a disappointing campaign.
Dorival Junior, who took over as head coach in January, has asked for time and patience to complete a rebuild, having left several big names out due to a lack of form or fitness. Neymar, of course, was also absent, having missed pretty much all of last season due to injury.
But with Brazil also sixth in the CONMEBOL qualifying standings for the 2026 World Cup, what do the underlying metrics from the Copa America suggest about the Selecao?
Vini the Neymar replacement... Or not?
There was plenty of responsibility placed on Vinicius Junior heading into the tournament, with the Real Madrid winger tasked with being the player to take over the mantle from the absent Neymar, who will be 34 by the time the next World Cup rolls around.
Yet Vinicius could not light this tournament up.
In Brazil's opening match against Costa Rica, Vinicius did not manage to get a shot off, though he did create three chances for his team-mates, registering a respectable expected assists (xA) figure of 0.46. Essentially, there was a 46% chance the opportunities he created could have ended up as a goal.
Vinicius did take centre stage in the second group match, scoring twice in that victory over Paraguay. His double came from three shots with an expected goals (xG) value of 0.81.
The winger attempted 17 dribbles in that match, completing seven of them; it was the second-most dribbles attempted by a Brazil player at the Copa America since Opta began recording such data in 2011, behind Neymar's 19 against Peru in 2015.
Yet that was really the only glimpse of what Vinicius can truly do, and a reckless booking against Colombia in Brazil's third match saw him suspended for the tie with Uruguay.
Without their talisman, and even with a man advantage for the last chunk of the second half, Brazil were limited to just seven shots and only 0.58 xG.
Sure, Raphinha, Rodrygo and Endrick - who is a superstar in the making, though he was unable to make his mark at this tournament - are quality attackers in their own right, but with Vinicius unable to wield the same amount of influence he has at Madrid, there was definitely some cutting-edge missing from Brazil's attack.
Does Dorival deserve time?
Dorival urged Brazilian fans to show his team patience in the wake of their exit.
"We are undergoing a very important renovation or reinvention of this team," he said. "I have only coached this team for eight matches and this is a process that we have to go through.
"We are aware of the difficulties we will come across throughout the path, but we now lost a match in the knockouts and that wasn't what we expected."
But was there really enough promise shown for fans to show that patience?
Brazil scored five goals across their four matches, which is a tally bettered only by five teams, though of course, it has to be noted that four of those came in one match.
What about the xG? Well, Brazil accumulated 6.33 during their stay in the United States, which is the fourth-highest figure in the tournament as it stands.
Yet we must again take that Paraguay game into account, with 3.74 xG coming in that match alone, over half of their total amount.
So, that leaves just 2.59 xG across the other three matches, an average of 0.86 per game. The Selecao have also been held to two goalless draws.
They mustered 50 shots (12.5 per 90), which is less than Ecuador (51), Venezuela (55) and Mexico (58) - who dropped out in the group stage.
Defensively, Brazil were stingy, conceding only twice, though they did offer up 3.24 xG against.
And even in that game against Paraguay, Alisson made five saves, the most by a Brazilian goalkeeper in a Copa America match since detailed data began being recorded in 2011.
In midfield, Bruno Guimaeres and Lucas Paqueta were industrious, with the latter winning 12 of 15 attempted tackles, but that area of the pitch is becoming increasingly workmanlike.
That's not something Dorival can particularly control, with Brazil sides seemingly now less about flair and more about tenacity, but it does not feel like the Selecao without that sprinkling of stardust.
It's definitely not time to call time on the Dorival project just yet, but Brazil did look largely disjointed at times, and that is on the coach to resolve.
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
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