In a melancholy way, the men’s soccer team was eliminated from the U-20 World Cup, played in Chile.
The defeat to Spain on Saturday (4), 1-0, in Santiago, resulted in the team’s fall in the group stage, a situation never occurred in the previous 20 participations.
It also resulted in the fall of coach Ramon Menezes, 53, who had been in office since the early 2022 and had already failed at the 2023 World Cup in Argentina, with the elimination in the quarterfinals against Israel, a country without football tradition.
In this edition, the national team was last in the group that still had Mexico (draw 2-2 in the debut) and Marrocco (2-1 loss). Between 24 teams, of which 16 passed to the knockout, just did not campaign worse than Cuba and New Caledonia. He touched the ridicule.
Thus, the generation that had as its best known name in the Chilean tournament Luighi, from Palmeiras, less for the performances, but for being the victim of racist attack on Libertadores U-20, against Cerro Porteño, Paraguay, in March. The attacker cried at the time.
Unsurprisingly the bad moment of under-20 selection. The runner-up in 2015 in New Zealand (the champion was Serbia), with names such as Gabriel Jesus, Andreas Pereira, Danilo Barbosa and Malcon, was an exception in performance.
Brazil did not even qualify for three (2013, 2017 and 2019) of the six most recent championships. For the country that has five titles in the U-20 World Cup (behind only Argentina, which earned six), is disappointing and worrying.
In theory, it is from the base that the talents that will bring results to the main team, which has not won a World Cup since 2002, in that team that had Ronaldo Phenomenon, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Cafu, Roberto Carlos.
There is a relationship between weak performance in base categories-the under-17 Brazil, of great results at the end of the last century, has not been doing well in the last 20 years-and distrust with the adult selection? Certainly.
One way to evaluate the scenario is to see that not necessarily the football played by Brazil has worsened, but that the competition has progressed. They are the two things.
Are there justifications for the early departure of this year’s under-20 team? Yes.
Ramon pointed to the short preparation time, only six days (less than the group’s opponents), which affects the rapport. And the team did not feature Endrick, 19, and Stephen, 18, the best of the age group, not released by, respectively, Real Madrid and Chelsea.
If the preparation was poorly or insufficient, the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) has to answer for it. About the absences, the conclusion is that the chips cannot be deposited on a leg of legs. More competent work is required.
Apologies aside, in the end what is recorded is the result. The under-20 is bad, the under-17 is bad, the adult, if not bad (has been classified for the 2026 World Cup and now has a top coach Carlo Ancelotti), is far from well (the qualifying campaign was not convincing).
With claudicating football (there is a little more hope for the women’s team), the so -called football country no longer deserves this cognome, if we consider the current moment and not resort to the five titles in World Cups and the glorious past with Pelé, Garrincha and others.
Eye around the Brazilian sport and the reason for pride is the gymnastics (artistic, with Rebeca Andrade and company, brilliant at the Paris-2024 Olympics, and rhythmic, two silver per team at this year’s World Cup in August), the sixth world title, this time with Yago Dora) and the champion champion athletics in this weekend.
If we are the country of something, we are from gymnastics, surfing and paralympic sport (which shines far beyond athletics).
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