Five challenges Ancelotti faces as Brazil reign kicks off
'The only goal is to win the 2026 World Cup,' said Ancelotti when he took the job. First he has to get there.
Carlo Ancelotti took his first training session on Monday as head coach of the Brazil national team. Picture: Brazil Photo Press via AFP
After a warm welcome to Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti, the Selecao's first foreign coach in more than 50 years, is on a mission to fix a stuttering team and win back fans which starts on Thursday against Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier.
The 65-year-old Italian led his first training session on Monday in Guayaquil, Ecuador, ahead of what should be his first match, if his move from Real Madrid passes scrutiny by football's governing body FIFA.
AFP identifies five issues Brazil's new coach Ancelotti faces:
– Qualify! –
'The only goal is to win the 2026 World Cup,' said Ancelotti when he took the job. First he has to get there.
The South American group is a two-year, 18-match marathon. Brazil's campaign has included a first-ever home World Cup qualifying defeat, 1-0 at the Maracana to old enemy Argentina, part of a run of three straight defeats in 2023 that ended the coaching reign of Fernando Diniz.
Their last match was a 4-1 humiliation in Argentina in March that finished off former coach Dorival Junior. Yet the format is forgiving.
The top six in the 10-team group qualify directly for the World Cup. Brazil are fourth, six points clear of Venezuela in seventh with four matches to go.
Ecuador may be second in the group, but are only two points ahead of Brazil, who then host Paraguay, who are fifth.
Qualifying ends in September with a visit to last-place Chile and a home game against struggling Bolivia.
– Find a centre forward –
Brazil is still churning out dazzling attackers but the production line has stalled on No. 9s. In this century, Romario, Ronaldo and Adriano have all led the attack and banged in the goals.
The nearest player to a classic No. 9 in Ancelotti's first squad is a player he coached at Everton, Richarlison, now of Tottenham.
Yet Ancelotti has won without a central striker before. His 2024 Champions League winning side was led by two Brazilians: Vinicius Jr, who is in Ancelotti's squad, and Rodrygo, who he did not select. Ancelotti also has Raphinha of Barcelona, who was joint top scorer in this season's Champions League.
– Sort out the midfield –
A bigger problem might be supplying the attackers, veteran Brazilian football journalist Juca Kfouri told AFP.
With Brazil's youth academies focusing on defensive midfielders and quick wingers rather than classic creators, the Selecao faces a shortage of ideas in midfield.
In Brazil's last two outings Dorival Junior tried Bruno Guimaraes, Gerson, Andre and Joelinton in the role. None convinced.
At Madrid, Ancelotti 'had Toni Kroos as a supply line for Vini. Brazil does not have a Toni Kroos,' said sports writer Tim Vickery on his 'Brazilian Shirt Name' podcast.
Ancelotti has recalled Kroos's former Real Madrid midfield partner Casemiro, although the 33-year-old now with Manchester United is primarily a defensive player to add, the coach said, 'charisma, personality and talent.'
– Find full-backs –
The supply of swashbuckling fullbacks, such as Carlos Alberto, Cafu and Roberto Carlos — another hallmark of great Brazil teams — has also dried up.
Ancelotti has recalled Carlos Augusto, part of the Inter Milan team crushed in the Champions League final, and picked Flamengo duo Wesley Franca and Alex Sandro after seeing them play last week in a 1-0 victory over Venezuelan team Deportivo Tachira in the Copa Libertadores.
– Win back the fans –
Ancelotti needs to rebuild the bond between the team and the public. Part of the problem is that after Brazil won five World Cups playing — mostly — the 'jogo bonito' (the beautiful game), fans have little patience with mediocrity.
But many supporters have been turned off by the way the famous yellow jersey has been hijacked as a symbol by supporters of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
'This issue of the extreme right appropriating the jersey has distanced part of the country,' said Kfouri, adding Ancelotti called on the fans when he took the job saying, 'I hope to have the support and help of the country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
Trump says Musk has 'lost his mind' as feud fallout mounts
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said that Elon Musk had "lost his mind" but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally. The blistering public break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful is fraught with political and economic risks all around. Trump had scrapped the idea of a call with Musk and was even thinking of ditching the red Tesla he bought at the height of their bromance, White House officials told AFP. "Honestly, I've been so busy working on China, working on Russia, working on Iran... I'm not thinking about Elon Musk, I just wish him well," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to his New Jersey golf club late Friday. Earlier, Trump told US broadcasters that he now wanted to focus instead on passing his "big, beautiful" mega-bill before Congress -- Musk's harsh criticism of which had sparked their break-up. But the 78-year-old Republican could not stop himself from taking aim at his South African-born friend-turned-enemy. "You mean the man who has lost his mind?" Trump said in a call with ABC when asked about Musk, adding that he was "not particularly" interested in talking to the tycoon. Trump later told Fox News that Musk had "lost it." Just a week ago Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after four months working there. While there had been reports of tensions, the sheer speed at which their relationship imploded stunned Washington. After Musk called Trump's spending bill an "abomination" on Tuesday, Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe on Thursday in which he said he was "very disappointed" by the entrepreneur. Trump's spending bill faces a difficult path through Congress as it will raise the US deficit, while critics say it will cut health care for millions of the poorest Americans. The row then went nuclear, with Musk slinging insults at Trump and accusing him without evidence of being in government files on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump hit back with the power of the US government behind him, saying he could cancel the Space X boss's multi-billion-dollar rocket and satellite contracts. Trump struck a milder tone late Friday when asked how seriously he is considering cutting Musk's contracts. "It's a lot of money, it's a lot of subsidy, so we'll take a look -- only if it's fair. Only if it's to be fair for him and the country," he said. Musk apparently also tried to de-escalate social media hostilities. The right-wing tech baron rowed back on a threat to scrap his company's Dragon spacecraft -- vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And on Friday the usually garrulous poster kept a low social media profile on his X social network. But the White House denied reports that they would talk.
IOL News
9 hours ago
- IOL News
Broos evaluates new players in Bafana's draw with Tanzania
Khulumani Ndamane of South Africa challenged by Selemani Mwalimu of Tanzania during the 2025 International Friendly match at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. | BackpagePix THE GOALLESS draw that Bafana Bafana played against Tanzania at Polokwane's Peter Mokaba Stadium Friday night would seem to suggest a dearth of alternate talent available to coach Hugo Broos. But the Belgian would no doubt have been pleased with some of the players he handed debuts to in a friendly international intended for blooding new players. Khulumani Ndamani walked away with the man of the match award in his maiden appearance for the country's senior national team and expressed a desire to continue wearing the gold and green in future. On a night when the regular Bafana players were absent, the squad missed all the Mamelodi Sundowns players who usually make up the bulk of the starting line-up, the newbies gave as good as they got against a pretty physical Tanzania outfit that was clearly out to impress. Guided by the likes of Patrick Maswanganyi and Oswin Appolis who have been in the squad for a while now, Bafana controlled proceedings and asked questions of the visitors early on with the latter seeing his attempt that was headed for goal cleared just before it crossed the line on ten minutes. It could well have been that he was playing in the city where he plays his club football because Appollis was bafana's livewire and had two other chances, one a shot late in the half which the Tanzanian goalkeeper saved with consummate ease. He then blasted a free kick against the wall shortly after the break. Another Bafana 'oldie' Thalenthe Mbatha disturbed the bats' flying pattern with a rugby style shot late in the first half as the hosts looked to make their dominance count for a goal. Besides Ndanmane, Broos also handed new caps to Deano Van Rooyen and Simphiwe Selepe from the onset while goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner came on for Ricardo Goss during the second half. Relebohile Mofokeng came on late in the game and almost scored when he lobbed the advanced goalkeeper but only succeeded in landing the ball on the roof of the net. Tanzania played a pretty physical match with some crunching tackles that left Broos jumping up and down the sidelines in anger. He would have, however, been pleased with the exercise of handing out new caps in a bid to grow his pool of players ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September as wella s the Africa Cup of Nations finals set to take place in Morocco at the end of the year. Bafana are due to play against Mozambique at the same venue on Tuesday.
The Citizen
9 hours ago
- The Citizen
Trump confirms date of fresh round of trade talks with China
This is the second time Washington and Beijing will meet, after the first meeting in Geneva in May. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. Picture: Tingshu Wang and Allison Robbert / AFP US President Donald Trump announced Friday a new round of trade talks with China in London next week, a day after calling Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a bid to end a bitter battle over tariffs. The talks in the British capital on Monday will mark the second round of such negotiations between the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched his trade war this year. 'The meeting should go very well,' said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform. The president added that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team. Background on trade conflict The first talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump slapped levies on allies and adversaries alike took place in Geneva last month. ALSO READ: Trump says deal with Xi 'extremely hard' as steel tariffs double While Trump had imposed a sweeping 10 percent duty on imports from most trading partners, rates on Chinese goods rocketed as both countries engaged in an escalating tariffs battle. Temporary tariff relief and renewed friction In April, additional US tariffs on many Chinese products hit 145 percent while China hit back with countermeasures of 125 percent. Following the talks last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the levels, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China's levies at 10 percent. But this temporary halt is expected to expire in early August and Trump last week accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides. Strategic concerns and uncertain outcomes US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of critical minerals and rare earth magnets, a key issue behind Trump's recent remarks. While Trump's long-awaited phone call with Xi this week likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks, a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain. NOW READ: Trump enjoys temporary win as court preserves tariffs
