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How can Brazil stop Haaland? It might come down to...
Brazil face Norway in the round of 16 of the World Cup, and the showdown against Erling Haaland and Carlo Ancelotti's midfielders will be one to watch.
‘An incredible man’: how Carlo Ancelotti has turned Brazil into potential World Cup winners
Italian’s man-management and decisiveness has shielded the talented Seleção squad and made fans believe againBrazil arrived at the World Cup with several open wounds. Since Qatar in 2022 there were four changes of manager, 95 players called up and a political crisis, including the ousting of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president. It has been a big mess, with many uncertainties, and the mood among the fans was one of pessimism. But then Carlo Ancelotti arrived. Gradually under the Italian, the team has taken shape and transformed its relationship with fans, who are again dreaming of a sixth World Cup after 24 years without one, the longest such drought alongside the period between 1970 and 1994.Ancelotti has become a shield for the players. Even the most experienced ones, such as Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos and Casemiro, feel more at ease having such a great figure on the bench, the most successful manager in the Champions League, with five titles. Continue reading...
Ancelotti: SAF is only manager more qualified
Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti had a reply to social media doubters in Brazil on Friday, saying legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is the only manager more qualified than he is.
Have Brazil lost the aura that made them the World...
Brazil used to be synonymous with the World Cup, adored for the way they played as much as for winning more than any other team. Have they lost that magic?
Ange Postecoglou is exactly what Japan need after fifth-straight World Cup knockout loss | John Duerden
The Samurai Blue’s toughest opponents are themselves. The Australian coach would help them kick down the door to football’s global eliteAs Japan’s players burst into tears after losing to Brazil in the 96th minute of their last-32 match to make it five losses in five World Cup knockout games, a pundit on British television neatly summed it up. “It’s heartbreaking for Japan,” he said. “As a nation, they just feel they have to break through this barrier and now they have to wait another four years to do that but that’s the World Cup. The great teams find a way to win and that’s where Japan need to get to.”That pundit was Ange Postecoglou, and now, Asia’s No 1 team need him to not just talk the talk but walk the nation to the top level of the global game. The federation in Tokyo should do all they can to get his signature on a lengthy contract as he is going to be in demand this summer. As last season progressed at Tottenham Hotspur and the drop became closer, the previous campaign under Postecoglou – with no danger of relegation and a major European trophy – looked better and better. Now, as teams head home from the World Cup earlier than they would like, the Australian’s brand of football, and more importantly, the mentality and attitude that come with it, seems more attractive than ever. Continue reading...