Those who have been watching this space will have read me say that a World Cup win depends on a lot of things going your way, which includes opponents involuntarily helping your cause. That has happened with Brazil in the last few days. Saying that the Seleção were disappointing in the goalless draw with Mexico in Fortaleza is an understatement – Brazil and our fans were shaken by a result that above all exposed flaws in the squad and some of their key players. But it could have been gloomier had Croatia not done Brazil a massive favour. By thrashing Cameroon 4-0, the Balkans team have turned Monday’s game against Cameroon into a virtual dead rubber.

Cameroon are not fearsome opponents and Brazil have a great chance not only to win but to make adjustments to the team and calm everybody down. This is the first time since 1978 that the Seleção arrive at the last round of the group stages still fighting for qualification. They only need a draw but I think they should fight for the first place in Group A. That’s not because of who we might face in the next round; the first spot would be a psychological boost for a team left a bit deflated at the Castelão.

So what happened to Brazil in the Mexico game? Hulk’s absence created problems I did not see coming. First of all, I expected Ramires to play in the middle, not on the right. By playing him there and shuffling other pieces around, Luiz Felipe Scolari created some problems for himself. Neymar in the middle facilitated the mission of his markers and the same went for Oscar, dislocated to the left. We lost him for that game, because that positional change nullified Oscar’s attacking threat while also not really blocking Mexico’s Andrés Guardado.

The most important change was never made: Paulinho once again had a game to forget. He is a problem now because he is a shadow of the player who last year proved so important in creative and defensive duties. He is a true box-to-box player that I had the pleasure to interview for my TV show and I advised him to keep playing that way. Paulinho should have made way for Ramires in the middle and Willian could have been an option to replace Hulk on the right. I really didn’t understand why Scolari tested the Chelsea man in training and in friendlies but then didn’t summon him for the Mexico game.

Paulinho had a tough season at Tottenham and it’s blatantly clear that he lacks rhythm and confidence. He is not as incisive as he used to be. That had obvious effects in Brazil’s midfield. Mexico dominated the action there enough to scare a lot of people. Ah, the game finished 0-0 and some commentators argued that Mexico resorted to long shots when they couldn’t penetrate the Brazilian box. So what? They had a decent number of them on target. Another team with better players for that kind of shot, such as Holland’s Wesley Sneijder and even Lionel Messi, would have loved so much space.

There was also too much space between Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo, who was dropping back too much instead of closing down the Mexicans. Up front, it became more evident that Fred is not well and his problems are forcing Neymar to try to sort things out by himself. He cannot abdicate from working with his team-mates.

Another thing that I didn’t like in the Mexico game was how Brazil failed to make more use of the wings in the final third of the pitch. Instead, there were a bunch of crosses that most of the time the defenders dealt with neatly. The few chances were not enough to beat the goalie, Guillermo Ochoa, who had a great match.

This Brazil side are lacking surprise elements, such as changes in pace or switches of play. They need to be less predictable. But I did see positive points. First of all, the players never gave in and fought hard in Fortaleza. Brazil also created the best chances and, unlike Mexico, tried to win the game when they had more possession. And the Mexican goalkeeper was man of the match. Most of all, the crowd applauded the team at the end instead of booing or falling silent.

Cameroon have problems of their own, having lost Alex Song to a red card and seen their own players almost trading blows. That doesn’t mean they will just wait for Brazil to win. In this sense, the draw with Mexico may prove the moment Brazil had a reality check and got their act together. If anything, they can look at Spain’s demise, a lesson to everybody. The game is more competitive than ever: the Spaniards paid the price for not making adjustments. Their system relaxed and they kept thinking the old ways would suffice. In their first game against Holland I kept asking myself: “Why are they trying to walk the ball into the net instead of shooting from outside the box?”

I felt sorry for Diego Costa. He was never the player for the Spanish system and David Villa, if fitter, would have been much more useful. Let them be an example to Brazil. The Seleção are still among the favourites in this World Cup, but they are here to fight for a trophy, not collect it.