Jesus let Brazil down

While we were crammed into a narrow corridor awaiting the elevator, one gentleman approached with a very important guest in tow. After being mildly shoved to make space, I glanced backwards and to my utter surprise I found myself in the presence of famous Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led the Selecaos to glory in the 1994 World Cup. We then quickly made way for him so that he could board the elevator ahead of us.

Parreira, who hold the unique distinction of attending the most World Cup final tournaments as a manager with six appearances, is actually leading the panel that will decide the Best Young Player and Golden Boot winners of this World Cup.

He was carrying a notebook with him and thanked everyone for allowing him to board the elevator first but as the doors closed on our faces, I began to ponder whether there would be a Brazilian or two in his shortlist for the Best Young Player award. Like many others, he might have also been considering that last night's tie against Belgium was an ideal stage for a reckoning of Brazil's young striker Gabriel Jesus.

However, the 21-year-old Manchester City forward ended up earning the dubious distinction of leaving the big stage without scoring a single goal. He started in all five of Brazil's games but surprisingly failed to make an impact in any fixture. More peculiarly, Jesus was more engaged as a cover for overlapping defenders when the opponents attacked on the break. He did that job quite well in the last two games though and perhaps considering only that, he got to start against Belgium. The concept was wrong and did not work out, perhaps as he was oblivious to his role of scoring goals.

There might even be some technical reason for Brazil coach Tite to overlook Roberto Firmino but that idea went against the concept of a striker who should be looking for that one moment which could change the game.

The fleet-footed forward failed to take even a single shot at goal in the match, where Brazil created more than a dozen chances, before being substituted in the second half. Jesus proved to be the biggest disappointment for Brazil in this World Cup. When he was drafted in the squad following his seven goals in the build-up, Brazil thought that the young player from Sao Paulo would solve the goal scoring conundrum. Sadly though, Brazil are yet to actually find a genuine marksman singe the departure of the great Ronaldo.

Brazil's World Cup failure might be down to luck, but Jesus' failure to score was one of the most defining factors in a team that have got balance in every sector, apart from the top.