Carlo Ancelotti intended to use Brazil’s friendlies against France and Croatia, in the last window of international duels before being called up for the World Cup, to bring together the team he considers to be the starters. After all, it was only the ninth and tenth matches for the green-yellow team under his command.
Multiple absences made the plan unfeasible, and the solution was to give a chance to athletes who had played little – or who had never played – for the national team. In this sense, the result was positive, as several of those considered reserves performed well.
“What makes me happy is that the new players who were here took advantage of the opportunity. It increases the doubt about the definitive list,” said the Italian, who will announce the names of the 26 called up for the World Cup on May 18.
One of the “new” players who caught the eye was midfielder Danilo, who came on well at the end of the 2-1 defeat to France and performed even better in the 3-1 victory over Croatia. He worked from area to area, scored the first goal, took a huge step towards being called up for the World Cup and may have even put Bruno Guimarães’ starting position in question – apart from recent commitments due to injury.
Striker Luiz Henrique is not new to the group, but he also practically stamped his passport with two good matches. Against Croatia, strikers Endrick and Igor Thiago were decisive in the victory – which made the possibility of Neymar going to the World Cup even smaller.
In these two games, there were nine players who played for the first time in the national team under Ancelotti’s direction: defenders Bremer (Juventus), Ibañez (Al Ahli), Léo Pereira (Flamengo) and Kaiki (Cruzeiro), midfielders Danilo (Botafogo) and Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray) and attackers Endrick (Lyon), Rayan (Bournemouth) and Igor Thiago (Brentford).
The Italian liked what he saw, but he regretted not having had the chance to play with the starting team. Alisson, Éder Militão, Gabriel Magalhães, Alex Sandro, Bruno Guimarães and Estêvão, injured, didn’t even go to the United States. Marquinhos was missing against France, and Raphinha was cut before the clash with Croatia.
If the main formation lacks interaction, such a modified team exhibited even greater difficulties in understanding. This became clear especially against France, which reached the finals of the last two World Cups and retains the coach who led them to them, Didier Deschamps.
Led by the same man for 14 years, the French team appeared much more cohesive, even after the expulsion of defender Upamecano. It didn’t seem like the European team had one less athlete, and it was in this condition that she played the ball until she scored her second goal.
“The objective of these games was to test the starting team. But the starting team wasn’t there, because we had a lot of injuries. So, we took the opportunity to test players”, declared Ancelotti, generally satisfied. “We are in the right process, on the right path.”
He will now observe the candidates to play in the World Cup from a distance to close the list. The preparation itself will begin at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis, on May 25th. The team will say goodbye to the fans in a friendly against Panama, on the 31st, at Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, and will leave for the United States on June 1st.
There will be one more friendly match, already in North American territory, before the World Cup debut. On the 6th, the Brazilian team will face Egypt at Huntinton Bank Field, in Cleveland.
Then the moment of truth will come. Top seed in Group C of the World Cup, Brazil will face Morocco (June 13, in East Rutherford, on the outskirts of New Jersey, Haiti (June 19, in Philadelphia) and Scotland (June 24, in Miami Gardens, on the outskirts of Miami).
