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Brazil have lost their 'essence' under manager Tite - Roberto Carlos

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Legendary left-back Roberto Carlos says Brazil have lost their "essence" under boss Tite, but have gained more structure defensively.

"We lost the essence of Brazilain football, which is offensive football, but we are organised in the defensive sector," the Real Madrid legend told media in Moscow.

Long-renowned for an attacking style featuring an assembly line of the game's greatest players, Brazil have won a record five World Cups in their storied history but none since 2002.

The Selecao hit a low point as hosts in the 2014 edition when they crashed out after a humiliating 7-1 loss to eventual champions Germany in the semifinals.

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But Brazil have been on an upswing since Tite took over for Dunga in the summer of 2016, losing just once and easily finishing top of the group in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying this term with a mixture of both silk and steel.

They are now counted among the heavy favourites to lift a sixth world title in Russia and Roberto Carlos reckons Brazil have the goods to end their 16-year drought in the competition.

"I hope we win again, since we haven't won since 2002. I believe the time has come for Brazil to be champions. I see it as something possible," he said.

Brazil will open Group E play on Sunday against Switzerland in Rostov.

And when they do, the country will have energy concerns to address when the proverbial lights go on.

The Brazilian government says it has prepared the country's power grid to deal with the wild swings in demand for electricity as most people in the country tune out everything except their televisions to watch the national team play.

Brazil comes to a near paralysis when the team plays in the World Cup as power demand falls sharply close to the start of the games, then surges during half-time breaks as people rush to grab a drink in the refrigerator or make microwave-popcorn. As play resumes, power demand falls sharply again.

"Such events cause system behavior that is totally different from normal days," said Alvaro Fleury Veloso da Silveira, IT director at national grid operator ONS. "But we are used to it," he said.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.