In the official stands of the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where the sun cast its strong rays until late, a gray and gloomy state populated the face of Neymar jr, the best known among the Brazil fans present in the place of the very poor 0-0 between Canarinha and Costa Rica. A sad result as it reflects the enormous impotence of a powerhouse in world football, which stopped when Marquinhos’ goal was disallowed after half an hour for offside, after the VAR review. However, it must also be said that if a team like the Seleção has to rely on a central defender to move forward, this means that there are many problems. Because the national team with multiple World Cups in its curriculum and which boasts an attack made up of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Raphinha cannot really depend on the scoring streak of a defender and on dead ball plays. Yet, the evening of the debut in this Copa America by the green and gold team in California was so mediocre as to further increase the doubts about the current management by Dorival Jr.
Endrick in, Vinicius out: “if Ancelotti had been there”…
And so, while O Ney sobbed from the stands, between the great frustration of not being able to play due to injury and the sadness for the lack of concreteness of his teammates, the first soulless performance of a Brazil that has indeed recorded a 70% of ball possession, but didn’t make even one of the seven shots on target count sent to Patrick Sequeira, who plays for Ibiza, i.e. in the Spanish Serie C. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Brazilian coach himself was questioned indirectly by Neymar himself, who seemed rather taken aback when, in the 69th minute, the green and gold coach has decided to include the young phenomenon Endrick by removing Vinicius. A decision that was greeted with skepticism at home, where many are now jumping on the bandwagon of detractors of a national team that does not generate consensus anywhere. The same selector then wanted to explain the change: “I’m looking for different tactical solutions and alternatives.” The choice, however, also sparked discussion among established journalists and commentators, including Fernando Kallas, who through a tweet thought about the possibility in which there would be someone sitting on the Brazil bench. Carlo Ancelotti. One who, according to him, would never have removed a Ballon d’Or candidate like Vini from the field.
General discontent and a victory that is slow in arriving
And if at the beginning of the tournament Ronaldinho himself had revealed all his disaffection towards the national team, things have now gotten even worse. It should be remembered, in fact, that after the goalless draw against the Central American selection, Brazil equaled the worst of its winless streak – five -, something that hadn’t happened in official matches for 23 years. The last triumph in a match with three points at stake dates back to September 2023 against Peru, when provisional coach Fernando Diniz was still on the bench and Neymar himself took to the pitch, assisting the only goal scored by Marquinhos. The former Roma player seems to be one of the few players who have actually been reliable for a few years now, together with goalkeeper Alisson. And even this, in fact, is not good news for the homeland of ‘futebol bailado’, where touching the ball with your foot is an art like that of music and dance, and attacks the origins of the philosophy of the game. The next match, against Paraguay in Las Vegas, has all the makings of a major bet. In the land of gambling, where gambling is the order of the minute, Dorival and his men will have to bet a good part of their chips if they don’t want to risk having to qualify as second in their group. This is because playing everything with just one result against lively Colombia in the last match could be more dangerous than initially thought.
