With the IFAF Americas Qualifying Bowl a week away Team Brazil is in pre-game camp this weekend in Recife, Brazil with a full 45-man roster.
The Brazilians have setup in the coastal city of Recife at Estadio dos Aflitos for a camp which will be topped off by a game between Team Brazil and a team formed with the best players in the northeast of Brazil.
The national team dominated the match 57-0. The match was streamed live online and can be watched here.
After this weekend’s camp the national team will head straight to Panama City, Panama where they will settle in and begin their week of preparation for the Panamanians who they will face on Saturday 1/31 at Estadio Rommel Fernandez G.
Brazilian Road to Panama
The Brazilians played an exhibition game a month ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil against the Seleção de Rio, a team of the best players from the Rio De Janeiro region.
Brazilian Safety Cleverson Freitas
National team safety Cleverson Freitas and the Team Brazil defense has made some changes going into this weekend’s warm-up match for Panama;
We had our first preparation game in December against the Seleção of Rio. It was a good opportunity for us to play all together, put into practice what our coaches have been teaching us and what we have been studying for quite a long time. It gave us a a chance to identify areas and opportunities for improvement. Now we have this second preparation game (in Recife), and we want to take this opportunity to implement those improvement opportunities and correct some mistakes.
When asked to describe the the Brazilian defense Freitas said;
Quick reaction and adaptation! We have been preparing and wondering what to do to beat them on the field, practicing very different formations and plays, but when the time comes we will need to be able to read their game and adapt properly. Brazil’s Defense is smart, strong and hard against everybody who plays against Brazil.
Brazilian OC Otavio Roichman
The Oncas co-offensive coordinator Otavio Roichman is excited to have Team Brazil in Recife.
Brazil is a huge country, so every chance to be with the team is great. A week before an important game is a chance to refine the execution on some key plays, and solve small doubts about the system.
Regarding next weekend’s game Roichman says;
Our focus on Panama game is to win. We know they have much more experience with the sport, but in Brazil things a getting really big on this sport. We have more than 120 teams in the country, with more than 10K people involved. We represent these people as the National team, so all we are doing, is to make history.
When asked about Team Panama, Brazilian LB Gerson Santos said;
We are training hard and focused on Panama. We will bring humility, intensity and will play hard the whole game.
Brazil and Panama meet to decide who will join the seven nations whom have already qualified and confirmed their participation in the 2015 IFAF World Championships in Canton, Ohio.
The United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and France and Australia have confirmed for the event.
Last week Germany and Austria announced they would not be attending international American football’s premier event and the IFAF Africa qualifier, Morocco, is still looking for funding before the January 29th deadline.