Brazil dazzled in a rout, but Ancelotti still seeks his ideal XI | OneFootball

Brazil’s 6-2 rout of Panama at the Maracanã left Carlo Ancelotti satisfied, although the coach admitted he still has not decided on the team that will make its World Cup debut. After the match, he highlighted the level shown by his players and sounded optimistic ahead of the tournament: “What I know for sure is that we have a very strong team.”

The Italian coach focused on the contribution of the players who came off the bench in the second half, the period in which the Brazilian national team showed its best version. “It was an important performance for the team; for the players who came on, they showed quality and that they can compete,” Ancelotti said, considering that several of them strengthened their case to fight for a place in the starting lineup.

Vinicius Jr with Carlo Ancelotti in Brazil

One of the main topics of the press conference was how the attacking setup used from the start functioned. Asked about the possibility of changing it for the World Cup, Ancelotti admitted the match left him with new questions: “It could change. The second half gives me more doubts. That’s a good thing, to have positive doubts.”

Going deeper into the tactical analysis, he explained: “High pressing is something we wanted to do in the first half.” Then, he added: “The truth is that when the press doesn’t work, you need to recover more quickly. That’s why I think I agree that the team wasn’t very compact.” In that sense, he stressed that defensive solidity will be one of the key areas to improve and highlighted that “the low block allows us to play on the counterattack.”

Ancelotti also made it clear that he still has not decided the team that will take the field in Brazil’s World Cup opener. “I don’t have the team 100% defined. Players are still missing. Marquinhos, Magalhães, Martinelli are missing… the squad list is not complete yet,” he said. At the same time, he emphasized that he trusts the group’s potential: “I still think I have a good squad.”

Brazil thrashed Panama 6-2 at the Maracanã. (Wagner Meier/Getty Images)

He also explained that the coming days will be decisive in drawing conclusions: “We have to evaluate training over these 13 days, because today’s match also showed that some players are in better physical condition and others a little less so.”

Thinking ahead to the opener against Morocco, the coach admitted he still has several questions to solve. “The doubt is choosing the best lineup for the first match. What I know for sure is that we have a very strong team,” he assured.

Finally, he referred to Neymar, who is still recovering from an injury, and revealed what his role within the team would be during the World Cup: “He has to play through the middle. He’s not going to play out wide as a winger; through the middle, as an attacking midfielder or second striker. The position Vini or Raphinha played today. It will be one of those positions.”

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