Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, manager of the Brazil national team, believes his Seleção side bowed out of the 2026 World Cup because of the water break in the second half against Norway.
Brazil crashed out in the round of 16, beaten 2-1 by Norway. The world title has now eluded the Samba nation since 2002.
The Italian coach admitted he may have misread the flow of the match at that moment, the water break. Convinced Brazil had lost control of the game, he decided to make a change.
Ancelotti told the network “ESPN“: “In general, I think the work done over a year was excellent. Logistically, the Brazilian team was very well organised in terms of the hotel, the stadium and the training ground. I think the players’ performance throughout the year was positive. I also think the 26 players who were called up were the most suitable to be there.”
He added: “It turns out we have to take into account that the plan drawn up last year changed slightly because of injuries, because we suffered many injuries in the period between March and the World Cup: Militão was injured, and Rodrygo, then Estêvão, and Wesley was injured before the World Cup, and during the World Cup, Raphinha was injured. So the plan changed a little.”
Continuing, he said: “But I think we lost the World Cup during the water break against Norway. Why? Because the team was in control of the flow of the match until that moment.”
He went on: “It is also true that Norway had possession of the ball, and had a lot of it in their own half… Norway played the same way against England. They controlled the match, but in the end, they could have beaten England.”
The Italian coach pointed out: “Perhaps my mistake was here, when I thought the team had lost control of the match when that was not the case. I made some changes to the line-up, then we had the problem of Erling Haaland’s goal. And in the World Cup, when they score a goal against you in the thirtieth minute (of the second half), it is very difficult to recover. But we did have a chance to recover.”
Scathing criticism followed his decision to bring on Neymar in the final minutes, a move said to have “upset the balance” of the team. Yet the coach feels no regret.
The former Real Madrid coach said: “No, when Neymar came on at that moment, I took off Ryan and brought on Endrick as a right winger, thinking that Neymar was capable of creating a goal, or showing his skills at that moment, in the 70th minute. That is what I intended to do against Japan.”
He continued: “But why did I bring on Gabriel Martinelli against Japan? Because the team was completely in control of the match. Japan relied only on counter-attacks. The aim was not to score a goal, rather I was thinking of bringing on Neymar in extra time against Japan.”
Then came another admission: “I brought Neymar on a little early to regain control of the match. Then you also have to think about the decisions you have to take… I heard (Thomas) Tuchel say he came in for heavy criticism, and the truth is that you have to make a very difficult decision. It is a moment full of tension, and you do not always get it right.”
He concluded his remarks: “I think Neymar should have been brought on, he had to come on at that moment because he was performing well, trained well, and prepared well. I liked his sporting spirit. I think he helped the team. But, with him coming on, there was no need to change the structure of the team.”