Down Under: Tite suffers 1st loss as Brazil's manager in defeat to Argentina

Brazil's confidence was shaken on Friday.

In a friendly between Brazil and Argentina at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia, the Selecao suffered its first loss under Tite, as La Albiceleste kicked off the era of Jorge Sampaoli with a 1-0 victory. The game's lone goal came in the 45th minute, when Gabriel Mercado, a pupil of the Argentinian manager at Sevilla, tapped a rebound into the back of the net.

Entering the friendly, Brazil had won all nine of its matches under Tite, who was appointed as the Selecao's manager in June 2016 and replaced Dunga after a disastrous performance by the national team at the Copa America Centenario. One of the wins was a 3-0 triumph over Argentina at Estadio Mineirao in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Paulinho, Renato Augusto, Gabriel Jesus, and Philippe Coutinho were Brazil's only first-teamers to play in Australia, as Tite deployed several footballers who are trying to push their claims for a regular place in the Selecao's squad, such as Rafinha.

As for Argentina, the result marked a positive start to Sampaoli's reign as La Albiceleste's manager. Tasked with reviving the national team's abysmal 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Argentinian tactician used the friendly as an opportunity to test Marcelo Bielsa's traditional 3-3-1-3 formation, deploying a back three of Mercado, Nicolas Otamendi, and Jonathan Maidana. Meanwhile, in attack, Lionel Messi took the pitch alongside Angel Di Maria, Paulo Dybala, and Gonzalo Higuain in attack.

The friendly, part of the big-money Brasil Global Tour, attracted an audience of 95,569. According to the Guardian's Russell Jackson, it was the third-largest crowd in the arena's history.