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The shock of the Brazilian star’s dismissal leaves the Italian coach confused
Carlo Ancelotti’s joy at the chance to play the same starting line-up again while in charge of Brazil’s national team was short-lived.
The first time they achieved the feat, they lost Lucas Paquette to a hamstring injury in the 45th minute of a 2-1 win against Japan and will have to work hard to decide the line-up to face Norway in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup in New Jersey on Sunday.
Danilo Santos is an immediate replacement, but there are other alternatives that will be analyzed from Thursday’s training.
Santos is the most suitable option in one case
To recover from the physical stress of the Houston game and subsequent travel, the coaching staff gave the players a little more than 24 hours of rest, and they will return to practice Wednesday night.
In other words, there will be three training sessions before the Italian coach decides who will be the new starter instead of Paquette. Possible candidates are Danilo Santos, Fabinho, Ederson, Neymar, Martinelli, Endrik.
By: Globo website This choice will directly affect gameplay and tactics. If Ancelotti decides to stick with the lineup he used in the victories over Haiti, Scotland and Japan, Danilo Santos is the most suitable choice.
The Botafogo midfielder plays in the same position as Paquette and is also left-footed, having been tested in that position alongside Bruno Guimaraes ahead of the Scotland game. He is the most obvious candidate for this position.
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Another option is to fix the middle
“If the decision is made to select a more physical midfield with two central players on the edge of the penalty area, then Fabinho and Ederson are the ideal options to maintain the 4-3-3 style of play alongside Casemiro. In this case, Bruno Guimarez will be burdened with the problems of playing and supporting the forwards.”
“During the break of the first half of the match against Japan, after the injury of Lucas Paqueta, Endrik was chosen to replace him. In this formation, the player in the number 19 shirt became the focal point of the team in the penalty area, while Matheus Cunha dropped back almost as a midfielder, alternating between 4-3-3 and 4 styles.
After the match, Ancelotti spoke about the possibility of repeating this line-up, although information from the scenes indicated that this was considered unlikely.
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The most obvious transformation… Neymar and the 4-2-4
The most obvious change to the 4-2-4, according to the same source, will be the inclusion of Gabriel Martinelli, who can play in the middle, as he did in the Houston game, or even on the left wing, which would move Vinicius into an attacking position closer to Matthew Cunha. For example, Brazil beat Paraguay in June last year, in a match that secured their place in the World Cup.
Finally, there is also the option of fielding Neymar in an attacking midfield position alongside Bruno Guimaraes. However, this option is considered unlikely internally as the coaching staff are aware that the number 10 is not physically ready to play the full 90 minutes and he has trained to be an influential factor in the second half.
Options will be available for Carlo Ancelotti and his coaching staff to discuss the start of training at Columbus Park, New Jersey on Thursday. On Sunday, the Brazilian team will play a fateful match in the 1/8 finals of the World Championship with the Norwegian team at the New York-New Jersey stadium.
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