Ancelotti’s Brazil Squad Choices Should Be Questioned | OneFootball

Brazil haven’t lost an opening World Cup match since 1934. And while that run was extended for another four years, their 1-1 draw with Morocco saw thenegatives outweigh the positives.

Ancelotti’s Two-Man Dilemma

Before the match, I wrote about how Carlo Ancelotti couldn’t play a two-man midfield. The Italian appeared to half listen to those cries from the Brazilian supporters. Lucas Paquetá was drafted in, yet played so far away from both Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães there was little to no change.

The result? Morocco overran Brazil right up until the first hydration break and were the first to break the deadlock.

But what led to Ismael Saibari’s clever finish raised questions beyond Ancelotti’s midfield duo.

Ancelotti’s Right-Back Problem

A decision to start Ibañez at right-back – who has only really ever operated as a central defender – was a shock selection. In fact, not only was he a bizarre selection to play out of position, but he was a rogue call-up having not featured in any of Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers.

The plan was to play Roma’s Wesley. Sadly for the Brazilian he was injured against Egypt in their final warm up match and was removed from the squad.

His replacement? Man United’s new signing Ederson, who plays central midfield. Now, Ancelotti had raised plenty of eyebrows for only selecting five natural midfielders within his 26-man squad, and so Ederson’s call-up pleased those who wanted an extra body in the middle.

However, this has now led to Flamengo’s 34 year-old Danilo as their only natural right-back.

So while one problem that could have been avoided was fixed, another quickly became apparent.

It was Ibañez’s poor pass into Paquetá that ended up with Saibari scoring. The Flamengo midfielder couldn’t control the ball and Morocco were away. Once again, I’ve spoken about how Brazil are vulnerable on the counter, and Casemiro was flat footed as Brahim Díaz played his killer pass.What makes the concession even worse is that Brazil have one of the strongest central defender partnerships at the World Cup – on paper. But PSG’s Marquinhos and Arsenal’s Gabriel (who both competed against each other in the Champions League final) completely fell apart. When Saibari was played through, there was enough space to fit three New York taxis in between them. Morocco’s striker couldn’t believe his luck.

And so it has been one problem after another for Brazil – yet all of them could have been completely unavoidable.

Haiti Awaits, Inspired by Cape Verde

Brazil head into round two knowing a win over Haiti will guarantee them qualification. Yet after Cape Verde’s draw against Spain, there’s no doubt Ancelotti will be feeling the pressure to execute his next game plan to perfection.

Haiti won’t be afraid either. Whether that’s a naive approach or not, it perhaps reflects how far Brazil have fallen in recent times.

Ancelotti has expressed he will make changes for the clash on Friday. The positives against Morocco were that the head coach did drastically adjust his team’s approach in the second half where they looked far more relaxed in and out of possession.

The main negative, however, remains clear. Ancelotti doesn’t know a system that suits the players he has brought to the World Cup. He also knows he can’t play the same team or formation against Haiti. Those dropped will have their confidence knocked, while those drafted in will be feeling the pressure.

Haiti can press high. They will shoot on sight. And they will certainly look to make life uncomfortable for Brazil whenever they can.

If Ancelotti doesn’t win – and win well – there’s going to be another week of uproar from the fans before facing Scotland. If Brazil come away with three points and a positive result, no one will think twice about it due to the gulf in class between both nations.

There’s no more time for experimenting and Ancelotti may know, deep down, this World Cup is beyond him and his choice of players.