"He's illuminated," Endrick said of Carlo Ancelotti. "It's as if God looks down on him and speaks." That's a teenager who'd run through a wall for his manager — and at this World Cup, Brazil might need exactly that kind of belief.
It's been anything but smooth. Before Ancelotti took charge in May 2025, Brazil cycled through three coaches after Tite's resignation following the Qatar 2022 quarterfinal exit: caretaker Ramon Menezes for three games, Fernando Diniz for six, then Dorival Junior for 16 with a 43.75% win rate. The CBF spent years chasing Ancelotti while Real Madrid kept winning things. Eventually, they got their man.
Not Jogo Bonito — Ancelotti-Ball
Anyone expecting samba football and endless stepovers needs to recalibrate. Ancelotti has been blunt about it: "The goal is to win. A manager is only judged if he wins or loses — it doesn't matter if we play well." The romanticism crowd won't like that. The result is that Brazil have become tactically unpredictable in a way they haven't been in years.
Their 4-2-4 didn't click against Morocco in the opener — a 1-1 draw that had critics sharpening their knives. Against Haiti, Ancelotti shifted to pressing, counterattacks, and transitional play. Vinicius Júnior moved more centrally against Haiti and Scotland. Against Japan, after going in 1-0 down at half-time, the instruction was simple: cross from deep, pin them back, and wait for the dam to break. It did — Casemiro equalized in the 56th minute, Martinelli won it in injury time. Not pretty. Effective.
That adaptability is what Brazil's ESPN Brazil pundit André Kfouri calls a source of calm for the players: "His calmness causes the impression that everything will be fine and takes pressure off the players." Ancelotti's raised eyebrow on the bench has become a kind of national symbol.
Managing Neymar — and Everyone Else
The Neymar question was always going to define part of this tenure. Brazil's all-time top scorer, 34 years old, hadn't played for the national team since October 2023, and came into the tournament recovering from a Grade Two muscle injury. Ancelotti had said he was picking on form and fitness, not reputation — which ruled out Richarlison, João Pedro, and Savinho. Neymar got in anyway. The rationalization, at least publicly, is that he still carries match-flipping quality. He came on against Scotland, made little impact, and sat out Japan entirely.
"Regarding Neymar, I believe it comes down to treating him as part of the team: very important, but no longer a player on whom the national team depends as the main star," former Brazil international Silas told ESPN. Ze Elias went further, suggesting Ancelotti made clear to Neymar that the group comes first — no privileges, no special treatment. Whether that message fully landed remains the most interesting subplot of this campaign.
The player who has genuinely flourished is Vinicius Júnior. Before Ancelotti, he had six goals in 39 Brazil appearances. Since Ancelotti took charge, seven goals in 13. ESPN sources say he's the happiest he's been in a Brazil setup. That kind of transformation in an elite player isn't accidental — it's coaching.
The broader squad has followed suit. Casemiro, 34 and heavily criticized after Japan's opening goal, was kept in the lineup by Ancelotti. He scored the equalizer. Douglas Santos said: "He instilled a sense of calm in us that gave us strength, gave us energy." There's a pattern here — Ancelotti backs his players publicly, and they tend to deliver.
The Road Ahead
Brazil's World Cup hasn't been the statement of authority that legends like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka — watching from the stands at every game — might have hoped for. They've lost Estêvão, Militão, and Rodrygo to injury before a ball was kicked. Their performances have been functional more than dominant. Erling Haaland and Norway are next in the round of 16, and that's a genuine test of Ancelotti's defensive organization.
The Brazilian FA clearly has faith — they extended his contract through to 2030 in May. Former Brazil international Ze Elias framed the endgame cleanly: "If he can balance playing beautiful soccer with getting the result, great. If he can't play beautiful soccer but can still get the result his way — the Italian way — by defending strongly, launching counterattacks, and ending up the world champions, that's also great."
When asked what his message to Brazil was ahead of the Norway game, Ancelotti gave the camera a thin smile and a raised eyebrow: "Stay calm." He's been saying it for a year. So far, his players are listening.
