Ancelotti pleased with Brazil display, shrugs off Neymar calls | OneFootball

Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied with Brazil’s performance, despite the 2-1 defeat to France this Thursday in a friendly played in Boston. The coach praised the players’ commitment and sees the national team as strong for the 2026 World Cup.

“When you lose a game, you can never be happy. We are not happy. The result is not the most important thing, but it tells us what we did well and what we did badly. The team competed until the end of the game, and we had some good chances. We lacked a little in playing out from the back and in staying alert to prevent the counterattacks they took advantage of. Overall, I’m satisfied. The team fought until the end,” the Italian said.

“Today’s game makes one thing very clear to me: we can compete against the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that. We played against a very strong team, with a lot of quality, and we competed until the end. I’m convinced that we will fight in the World Cup with all our energy,” he added.

Calls for Neymar

The match had a curious moment after the French team’s second goal. Brazilian fans at Gillette Stadium chanted Neymar’s name. “Olê, olê, olê, olá, Neymar… Neymar,” they sang.

The calls, however, were ignored by Ancelotti. When asked about it during the press conference, the coach avoided commenting.

“Now we have to talk about the players who were here, who played, and gave everything. They worked very hard and I’m satisfied. After that, we’ll prepare for the next game against Croatia,” he said.

Vini and Raphinha subdued?

The coach also spoke about the subdued performances of forwards Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha, who was substituted at halftime with pain in his right thigh. He went against public opinion and came to the duo’s defense.

“Raphinha played well, then he had a problem. Vini was always dangerous. They didn’t score, but a forward won’t always score. Both of them did their job well,” he said.

Brazil is now preparing for its final friendly before the announcement of the final squad for the World Cup. Next Tuesday, the national team will face Croatia at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, United States. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. Brasília time.

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Brazil national team’s next match

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