So how bad was the sixth round of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying for Brazil? It's difficult not to look at the table and cringe.
After Tuesday night's 2-2 draw against Paraguay in Asuncion, the Selecao are sixth in the table and if the tournament finished at this point, they would be out of the World Cup for the first time in their history. Luckily, the league format system guarantees another 12 matches; in theory, more than enough games for Dunga's men to recover from a shaky start in their campaign for Russia 2018.
To say Brazilians are worried is a bit of an understatement but there are also reasons to avoid despair despite the obvious problems.
Reasons to jeer
1. That shaky and leaky defence
The only person in Brazil who must have not sad on Tuesday night was David Luiz. Despite of the absence of PSG's erratic defender, the Selecao back four was woeful at the Defensores del Chaco Stadium. Luiz's replacement, Gil, has suffered an apparent lack of genuine match action since his move to China and was easily beaten by the Paraguayans. It didn't help his case that the spaces usually left by Dani Alves were promptly exploited by Ramon Diaz's men. Calls for the return of Thiago Silva have never been louder but the problems are deeper since Miranda didn't have a great game either. Neither did Filipe Luis at left-back.
2. Too much possession
According to the official tournament stats, Brazil are the side with most possession. However, the Selecao are just fifth out of 10 teams in shots taken. It literally means Dunga's men can exchange passes but doesn't know how to turn them into enough opportunities to avoid bad results. The hope here is that it's still early doors and things will click soon.
3. Are exports hurting?
The use and rotation of players based in China is proving a problem for Dunga. Apart from the aforementioned case of Gil, Renato Augusto, a player highly regarded by the manager, visibly lagged in Asuncion. He'd already warned the press before last Friday's 2-2 draw against Uruguay that he was struggling a bit, but the former Corinthians man scored one of the goals and had a decent game. It's a luxury Brazil can't afford when the midfield is already struggling, something that became evident in Asuncion when Dunga simply withdrew his defensive players and pretty much put the Selecao in attack mode after the team were 2-0 down.
4. Tough schedule
Brazil's next two games, in around six months' time, are against Ecuador away and Colombia home. Both teams are currently above the Selecao in the table, which means Brazil will play two "six-pointers" in a row.
Reasons to cheer
1. Good goalkeeping
Brazil could have been hammered by Paraguay and the main reason they weren't is that goalkeeper Alisson made crucial saves at the Defensores del Chaco. It was a performance that will give the young keeper a lot of confidence -- much-needed confidence, too, especially if his defenders keep leaving spaces for target practice.
2. Their natural fighting spirit
Brazil could be in a worse position. Really. Paraguay went 2-0 up after only 48 minutes and the team was looking in disarray. Ricardo Oliveira vindicated Dunga's desire to have a more specialist No.9 in the group and scored a poacher's goal in the 78th minute. Dani Alves redeemed himself with the equaliser in the 91st and Filipe Luis could have settled a remarkable comeback had he not sent the rebound of an Alves long-range shot just inches wide. After panicking when blowing their lead against Uruguay, the Selecao players showed some grit at a very tricky time.
"Tonight I saw a team that showed great capacity to react and not accept a bad result. We never thought this tournament of this game would be easy but we need to be able to fight when we are not playing that well," Dunga said.
3. Enter Lucas Lima
The young Santos midfielder, a player many Brazilian fans expect to do great things at this summer's Rio Olympics, was thrown into the fire on Tuesday night but didn't panic, organising the team without fear. A peach of a pass to Oliveira could have resulted in a goal early in the second half as Brazil finally managed to control the game. It will be difficult to imagine the Selecao without Lima when the team lines up against Ecuador on Sept. 2 as his fearless performance was one of the few reasons fans shouldn't feel totally deflated.
4. Neymar will be back
At some point in this qualifying campaign, Neymar's talent will have to emerge. Suspended from the Asuncion game after picking up a booking against Uruguay, the Barcelona man so far has been really subdued in the qualifiers. But few people dispute his importance for the side in a competition that promises to be tight till the end. Wake up, kid.