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The Italian coach confirms. I don’t regret playing with Neymar
The coach of the Brazilian national team, the Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti believes that the “Seleção” team said goodbye to the 2026 World Cup because of the water break in the second half of the match against Norway.
Brazil exited the World Cup in the Round of 16 after losing 2-1 to Norway, continuing Samba’s failure to win the world title since 2002.
The Italian coach admitted that he may have misjudged the course of the match at that moment (water break), considering that the Brazilian team had lost control of the game, and therefore decided to make a change.
Ancelotti said in an interview with the network.ESPN:“Overall, I think the work done during the year was excellent. The Brazilian team was very organized logistically in terms of hotel, stadium and stadium. I think the players’ performance throughout the year was positive. I also think the 26 players invited were the best to be there.”
“It turns out that it should be taken into account that the plan made last year changed a little due to injuries, because we had a lot of injuries from March to the World Cup. Militao was injured, Rodrigo then Estevao, Wesley was injured before the World Cup and Rafinha was injured during the World Cup. So the plan changed a little bit.”
He continued. “But I think we lost the World Cup to Norway in the water break, why, because the team was in control until that point.”
He continued. “It’s also true that Norway dominated the ball and had a lot of possession… Norway played the same style against England. They controlled the match but in the end they could have beaten England.”
“Maybe that was my mistake here because I thought the team had lost control of the game when it wasn’t. I made some changes to the line-up and then we had Erling Holland’s goal problem. In the World Cup, when they conceded an own goal in the 30th minute (in the second half), it is very difficult to compensate.
Ancelotti was heavily criticized for his decision to include Neymar in the final minutes of the matchThis was said to “unbalance” the team. However, the coach does not regret it.
The former coach of “Real Madrid” said. “No, when Neymar came on at that moment, I took Ryan off and put Indrik on the right winger, thinking that Neymar would be able to create a goal or show his skills at that moment in the 70th minute. That’s what I was going to do against Japan.”
“But why did I include Gabriel Martinelli against Japan? Because the team was in complete control of the game. Japan relied only on counterattacks. The goal was not to score, but I was thinking of including Neymar in extra time against Japan.”
“I brought Neymar on a bit early to regain control of the game. Then you also have to think about the decisions that you have to make… I heard (Thomas) Tuchel say that he is heavily criticized and the truth is that you have to make a very difficult decision. It’s a tense moment, and you don’t always get it right.”
“I think Neymar should have been involved. He should have come in at that point because he’s been performing well, he’s been training well and he’s prepared well. I loved his athleticism. I think he helped the team. But with his entry, there was no need to change the structure of the team.”
