Paquetá praised by Ancelotti, gives Brazil boss a ‘headache’ before Cup | OneFootball

Lucas Paquetá scored a goal and provided an assist in Brazil’s rout of Panama

Lucas Paquetá’s performance in the Brazilian National Team friendly this Sunday (31) against Panama did not go unnoticed by Carlo Ancelotti. The midfielder, who is in great form at Flamengo and has rediscovered his best football, stood out in the 6-2 thrashing, earning praise from the coach on the eve of the World Cup.

Regarding the red-and-black player’s movement, Ancelotti did not hold back in his praise, highlighting both the collective and individual performance: “Paquetá started wider when we didn’t have the ball. Paquetá had to play more centrally with the ball. They changed positions. They had the same role. Part of that role, Danilo (from Botafogo) played on the left. The team was well balanced. Paquetá had a very good performance.”

Lucas Paquetá came on in the second half of the friendly as part of a series of changes made by the coach, and his display in the final 45 minutes opened the door to a new debate within the technical staff. Ancelotti made it clear that he is not ruling out changes given the challenges that lie ahead in the World Cup.

In that regard, the coach admitted that the team’s second-half performance left him thinking about the next lineups. “Yes, it crosses my mind to make changes. To change the strategy. I think the second half leaves me with doubts. It’s important to have doubts,” said Ancelotti.

WHEN IS BRAZIL’S NEXT MATCH?

With Lucas Paquetá available and full of confidence, Brazil resumes training and turns its focus to the match against Egypt. The friendly will take place next Saturday (06), at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, and will be the team’s final test before its official debut in the World Cup.

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