It has been 28 months, but finally Brazil will return to the site of their greatest trauma. Their World Cup qualifier against Argentina on Thursday will be their first game in Belo Horizonte since the 7-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semi-final. Nothing will ever erase that horror but a victory over Argentina would make the ghosts loom less menacingly over the Mineirão in future – particularly if it adds to the growing fear in Argentina that the country may not qualify for the next World Cup.
“There’s no way to escape it,” said Paulinho, who came off the bench in the 7-1 and is likely to start on Thursday. “But football gives you the chance to rewrite history. We’re not going to reverse what happened, but we can leave a good impression this time around.”
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