Can Carlo Ancelotti end Brazil’s 24-year wait or is the World Cup a different game?
There are few jobs in football that come with greater expectations than managing Brazil, and few managers better equipped to manage expectations than Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian has spent the last three decades collecting trophies across Europe, winning league titles in five countries and the Champions League almost everywhere he’s gone, but even he admits standing on the border with the weight of an entire footballing nation resting on his shoulders is something else.
This responsibility officially begins with Morocco later today when Ancelotti takes charge of Brazil for the first time at the World Cup.
This is a man whose career has included enough Champions League nights to fill an entire Netflix series, so the World Cup group stage should in theory be just another Saturday at work.
However, Ancelotti’s pre-match remarks suggested that even he knows the job comes with a different level of noise.
“Fear is an important part of life,” Ancelotti said in the most Ancelotti way at the pre-match press conference.
The 67-year-old knows Brazil come into this tournament with the expectations that always follow a yellow shirt, but also the reality that football’s most successful nation has spent the last two decades searching for another World Cup triumph.
Brazil’s last title came in 2002. Since then, there have been quarter-final exits, managerial changes and numerous painful moments, none bigger than the 7-1 defeat by Germany in 2014. So Ancelotti has a history of presenting himself as Brazil’s boss to his biggest rival on the first day of the World Cup.
Brazil’s opening opponents are Morocco, a team that became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar and spent the tournament dismantling heavyweights such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Which means Ancelotti’s first World Cup assignment is far from a gentle introduction.
WHY ANCELOTTI’S BRAZIL FEELS DIFFERENT
Can Carlo Ancelotti work his magic at the World Cup? (Photo by Reuters)
Of course, Brazil is still loaded with talent. They always are. Even in a phase of uncertainty, there is enough quality for opponents to create special tactical plans.
Vinicius Junior enters the competition as one of the most dangerous strikers in world football, capable of turning a game around with two touches. Raphinha has quietly become one of the most productive strikers, while Casemiro and Marquinhos provide the kind of experience that tends to become invaluable once the tournaments move to knockout football.
Then there is Neymar, because with Brazil there is always Neymar.
The nation’s all-time leading scorer will miss the opening match against Morocco as he continues to recover from a calf injury, but even his absence has become part of a larger story. For more than a decade, Brazil’s fortunes have been talked about through the lens of Neymar, and the fact that supporters are already counting down the days until his return speaks volumes.
Ancelotti tried to bring a slightly different energy to the team. Less noise around systems and revolutions and more focus on balance, clarity and allowing talented players to do what they do best. It sounds simple, but international football has a habit of revealing ideas that seem straightforward on paper.
At club level, Ancelotti could spend months fine-tuning the squad. International football does not offer such a luxury. That makes the Morocco clash the Italian manager’s first big test.
A victory would make everything seem wonderfully reasonable. Anything else and Brazil’s relationship with World Cup anxiety will continue right where it left off four years ago.
CAN BRAZIL FEEL LIKE BRAZIL AGAIN?
Winning the World Cup is the bare minimum for Brazil, but their real mission is to remember who they really are. Lately, that famous Brazilian magic has been lost a bit. Fortunately, Ancelotti will be given the task and will focus on enjoying the wild ride rather than being eaten alive by the stress.
“It’s a new experience, but of course a special one,” Ancelotti said. “It means having the responsibility and the honor to represent the home of football.”
Good news? Few managers handle insane pressure as casually as Carletto. Bad news? International football loves it when even the biggest coaching geniuses look utterly clueless every night.
Whether that matters will begin to reveal itself against Morocco.
And after 24 years of waiting, faith is probably the one thing Brazil fans lack the most.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
June 13, 2026 1:34 PM IST