Brazil are in big trouble: Carlo Ancelotti's Selecao still struggling just over two months before World Cup kick off

The Neymar chants began just moments after Hugo Ekitike put France 2-0 up on Brazil at the Gillette Stadium. It was the last thing Carlo Ancelotti would have wanted to hear, but probably the first thing he would have expected in the circumstances. The Italian's decision to leave out the Selecao's all-time leading goalscorer from his latest squad had dominated the build-up to Thursday's high-profile friendly in Foxborough.

So, it wasn't in the least bit surprising to hear

The 34-year-old is in no fit state for the highest level of football right now

'Greatest coach in history'

On May 12, 2025, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that they'd finally got their man. After two years of courtship, Ancelotti had agreed to take charge of the Selecao. CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues hailed the appointment of the most successful manager in Champions League history as much "more than a strategic move".

"It's a statement to the world that we are determined to regain the top spot on the podium,"

The story so far, though, has been one of struggle and uncertainty, with scant evidence to suggest it will have a happy ending. On the contrary, it could come to a rather abrupt ending, because while Ancelotti says he's open to extending his contract beyond the World Cup, there's now every chance that he will end up spending less time coaching Brazil than the CBF expended pursuing him.

The caretaker coaches

The dream had always been for Ancelotti to take over as soon as possible after Tite's all-singing and all-dancing Brazil bowed out of the 2022 World Cup at the quarter-final stage. Ancelotti, though, had no intention of leaving Real Madrid at that point in time, resulting in Rodrigues making a number of bizarre moves as he sought to stabilise the Selecao while at the same time leaving the door ajar for Ancelotti.

However, hiring the unqualified Ramon Menezes as caretaker coach in February 2023 was one thing, giving Fernando Diniz the same role was quite another. Diniz was doing an incredible job at Fluminense, but making him interim manager made no sense, given it was obvious that it would require a lot of patience for him to implement his complex footballing philosophy at the international level, where time on the training ground is in such short supply.

Unsurprisingly, Diniz didn't prove a quick fix to Brazil's many problems, and he was sacked halfway through his one-year deal.

Sad moment for Brazilian football

Diniz's successor, Dorival Jr, was at least appointed on a full-time basis, but the supposed safe pair of hands fumbled the assignment, with the former Flamengo coach sacked just 18 months after taking over. His fate had been sealed by a painful 4-1 World Cup qualifying loss at home to bitter rivals Argentina - but the writing had been on the wall ever since a dismal Copa America quarter-final loss to Uruguay.

By the time of Dorival's dismissal, Brazil were in total disarray. Rodigues and the CBF were caught up in an utterly embarrassing election scandal centred on allegedly falsified documents, while legendary players from the past were effectively accusing the current crop of being frauds, with Ronaldinho even going so far as to melodramatically resign as a Selecao fan

"That's it folks, I've had enough,"

In that context, Ancelotti's arrival felt like a godsend. But if the Italian can still lay claim to being the greatest coach in history because of his achievements with the likes of Madrid and AC Milan, Brazil still don't look anything like reclaiming their title as the greatest team in the world.

'We can compete with the best'

Ancelotti was rightly irritated by the continued focus on Neymar after the 2-1 loss to France. "We should be talking about those who were here, who played, who gave their all, who stepped up, and who worked hard," he told reporters.

However, the press pack's eyebrows were understandably raised in Ancelotti-like fashion when the coach pronounced himself "satisfied" with the performance in Massachusetts.

"I think today's game makes it very clear to me that we can compete with the best teams in the world,"

France were unquestionably guilty of time wasting in the closing stages, but that was only because they were playing with 10 men - which is also the reason why Brazil were able to apply any pressure at all in the final half hour. Before Dayot Upamecano's 55th-minute dismissal, the Selecao had failed to lay a glove on Les Bleus. They were restricted to just 35.4 percent possession in the first half and didn't manage a single shot on target.

So, while

'Talent must not be wasted'

For a country once able to name Roberto Carlos and Cafu in the same side, Brazil are shockingly short on world-class quality at full-back. Indeed, Wesley's injury-enforced withdrawal from Tuesday's friendly with Croatia means there's no longer a single orthodox right-back in the squad, leaving versatile centre-back Danilo to likely fill the void left by the Roma man.

In midfield, Ancelotti may well feel that his decision to bring Casemiro back into the fold has been vindicated, but the mere fact that the 34-year-old is still starting games for the Selecao is a damning indictment of the quality of the other options.

Meanwhile, everything you need to know about the candidates to lead the line in North America is best summed by a rather staggering statistic:

"It is better to have a star player like Neymar, even when he is not at 100%, than to call up any other player,"

As it stands, though, Neymar has done next-to-nothing since the last World Cup to earn the right to play in the 2026 edition - and the much bigger issue for Ancelotti is that the same goes for so many of the Santos star's would-be successors as the national team's talisman.

There is still time for him to do precisely that, as Ancelotti is not expected to name his World Cup squad until the end of May, and it's worth noting amid all of the ongoing controversy that the manager has been very clear about his hope that Neymar returns to full fitness in the coming weeks.

Pretenders to the throne

Matheus Cunha has just one goal in 20 games for Brazil, Joao Pedro has yet to open his account, while Vinicius and Raphinha are still being slated for failing to play as well for their country as they do for their clubs.

Vinicius' struggles are particularly troubling, as Ancelotti's appointment was meant to belatedly bring the best out of the Madrid winger - and yet Neymar's most obvious heir continues to flatter to deceive. As for Raphinha, the hamstring problem that forced him off at half-time against France is expected to rule him out of action for five weeks - and it is the Barcelona attacker's availability that should be of much more concern to Selecao supporters, given he's one of the few players in the squad of the requisite class and character to shine at this summer's World Cup.

Of course, the focus will doubtless remain on Neymar, much to the obvious annoyance of Ancelotti, who has

Former midfielder Felipe Melo even went so far as to claim that Neymar on one leg would still be a better option at No.10 than anyone else

The thing is, though, many members of Brazil's squad would like to see Neymar named in the World Cup squad - including Joao Pedro, Fabinho and Casemiro - so there will undoubtedly be a temptation for Ancelotti to include the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar just to appease the press, the supporters and even his own players.

However, Neymar couldn't inspire Brazil to World Cup glory four years ago, so there's zero reason to believe he can do likewise this summer. This is a weaker squad than the one Tite took to Qatar and worryingly low on confidence.

Ancelotti's appointment was meant to lift the spirits, and improve results, but he's managed to win just four of the nine matches he's overseen so far, and Brazil actually ended up finishing fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying, even though they were fourth when he took over.

So, forget about the fact that there's no Neymar in Ancelotti's squad. What's really worrying is that Brazil have no momentum, confidence or stability either.