After Brazil conceded France’s second goal in the friendly played this Thursday (26), even with one more player, part of the Brazilian fans present in the stands of Gillette Stadium, in Boston, shouted Neymar’s name.
Without calling Santos’ number 10 since taking command of the team, on the grounds that he needs to improve physically, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti did not want to talk about the fans’ chorus and preferred to praise the players who make up the group present at the match.
“I believe that now we have to talk about those who are here, who played, gave everything, showed their face. I am satisfied and we will prepare for the next game against Croatia”, Ancelotti simply replied, when asked in an interview after the match about the shouts for the Santos striker.
Despite the setback, the Italian said that this Thursday’s match reinforced his conviction regarding the squad list and praised the performance of names that were called up by him for the first time, such as defenders Léo Pereira, from Flamengo, and Bremer, from Juventus, and striker Igor Thiago, from Brentford.
“After this game, I’m much more confident, but I think deciding on the final list won’t be so easy for me,” said the Brazilian national team coach. “There’s a lot of competition.”
The squad list for the World Cup is expected to take place on May 18th.
Ancelotti also said that the result of the match itself “is not the most important thing”, although he acknowledged that it shows the team’s deficiencies and positive highlights.
“The team competed until the end of the game, with some good opportunities, but they lacked a little vigilance to avoid the counterattack where they scored,” said the coach.
He added that, starting from this Thursday’s game against France, he believes that Brazil is capable of “competing against the best teams in the world, I have no doubt. I am convinced that we will compete in the World Cup with all our energy.”
