Ramon Menezes explains Brazil's U20 World Cup embarrassment

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·4 October 2025

Ramon Menezes explains Brazil's U20 World Cup embarrassment

The atmosphere in the Brazilian U-20 National Team was one of dejection after the early elimination from the World Cup in the category this Saturday (4), in Santiago, Chile. Brazil was defeated by Spain 1-0 at the National Stadium and ended its participation without a single victory — with two losses and one draw in the group stage. The Spanish goal was scored by Iker Bravo, still in the first half.

Coach’s explanations

Coach Ramon Menezes expressed a feeling of frustration and highlighted the difficulties faced by the team during preparation. It was Brazil’s first elimination in the group stage in the history of the U-20 World Cup.

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“First, we are all very sad. It’s hard to speak at a time like this. It was the first time that, in all the competitions we led, we went out in the first stage — in six competitions played. The fans are sad, upset, but sometimes people don’t understand the context and the difficulty,” said the coach.

Ramon explained that the group had little time to prepare and included players with few minutes on the field, which influenced the team’s performance in the tournament.

“We got together on the 22nd to play on the 28th. These are players with little playing time, and we knew we were taking risks. Now we have to keep our heads up. When you win, you leave a mark; and when you lose, you also leave marks and scars. You have to keep your head in place. No one will stop playing football because of this elimination,” he said.

A moment for reflection

Defender Iago, a standout from Flamengo’s youth academy, also lamented the result and the way the elimination happened.

“At this moment, it’s hard to talk. The pain is very great. We didn’t want to be eliminated the way we were, or at this stage. Now we have to try to reflect and move forward,” declared the visibly saddened defender.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.