SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s biggest hope to end a 24-year World Cup title drought is not a clinical striker, a creative midfielder or a dribbling winger like in previous editions of the tournament. This time Brazilians are pinning their hopes on a 66-year-old Italian, who will be sitting on the bench.
Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most successful coaches of his generation, left Real Madrid to take over Brazil’s national team last year, a rare example of a foreign coach in charge of the Seleção. Even though his results have been mixed — five wins, three losses and two draws — the country is optimistic he can elevate a squad which is seen as less star-studded than Brazil’s iconic teams of the past, despite high-profile players like Neymar and Vinicius Júnior.
While Brazil has won the World cup five times — more than any other team — it hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2002, an eternity for a soccer-obsessed nation that produced some of the most brilliant players in history, such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Pelé.
Since 2002 it has only gotten beyond the quarterfinals once — as World Cup host in 2014 — and even that tournament ended in disappointment after an embarrassing 7-1 semifinal loss to eventual champion Germany.
Brazil’s self-confidence hasn’t been helped by the success of archrival Argentina, the defending World Cup champions and back-to-back Copa America winners.
“It is allowed to believe,” Ancelotti says in a World Cup-themed advertising campaign, acknowledging the self-doubt that has crawled into Brazil’s national soccer psyche.
Neymar is back despite fitness doubts
Brazil begins its World Cup campaign at MetLife stadium in New Jersey on June 13 against Morocco, semifinalist in the 2022 World Cup. Other Group C opponents are Haiti and Scotland.
Surviving the group stage is taken for granted in Brazil — anything else would be disaster in a World Cup expanded from 32 to 48 teams. How deep Brazil can go against stronger opponents in the knockout phase is less obvious.
“I am aware and reliant that this team can compete against the best in the world. Can we win the World Cup and reach the final? Yes, we can reach the final. But I don’t know if that is enough, it is best for us to get there and win the final,” Ancelotti said on May 18.
One of the biggest questions facing Ancelotti is what to do with 34-year-old Neymar, who was Brazil’s brightest star until he moved to the big-spending Saudi league in 2023. He hardly played there due to a string of knee injuries, and last year returned to boyhood club Santos in Brazil, where he dealt with even more injuries.
Ancelotti included Neymar in his World Cup squad despite concerns about his fitness, calling him an “important player” for the team. Barcelona winger Raphinha also sees Neymar as key to the squad, recently describing him as “the man of our sixth World Cup title.”
If that happens it will be with a more structured approach than the free-flowing style of play that once made Brazil stand out in global soccer.
With a reputation as a master tactician, Ancelotti has made Brazil a team that is happy to sit back and wait for moments to attack rather than dominate ball possession. He often opts for a compact 4-4-2 formation that can quickly turn into an attacking 4-2-4.
Brazil believes in Ancelotti
Brazilians are generally satisfied with Ancelotti, even though his record so far is uneven. After he took over, Brazil won two World Cup qualifiers, drew one and lost one, finishing fifth in South American qualifying after Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay.
In friendlies more recently, Brazil beat Croatia — which eliminated Brazil from the 2022 World Cup in a quarterfinal shootout — but lost to 2022 runner-up France.
Former Brazil left-back Filipe Luís, who has recently started a coaching career, in April called Ancelotti “the best thing that happened” to the national team.
“It is not a sure thing we will win anything,” he said. “But we needed someone big, with enough support to make decisions. A man people respect, who knows Brazil has gone through many years in doubt for not winning the World Cup.”
Ancelotti took over after a tumultuous time for Brazil.
The team had struggled in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, losing twice to Argentina, and was knocked out by Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa America. Three coaches came and left — caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and full-time coach Dorival Júnior were all fired after poor results and criticism from fans.
Meanwhile, Brazil pursued Ancelotti, whose second stint at Real Madrid appeared to heading toward an end despite the team winning both the Champions League and the Spanish league in 2024.
So confident is the Brazilian soccer confederation that it has made the right choice that it has already extended Ancelotti’s contract until the 2030 World Cup.
“We have a beast taking care of our national team, a man who is respected by everyone,” Luís said. “This World Cup is for us to build on that.”
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
