FLASH
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Brazil national team coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared calm after the dramatic 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. The Italian coach stressed that he had never doubted his team and that the "Selecao" continues to improve from match to match.
"During the first half I told the players to be patient, because sooner or later we would score. The important thing was to maintain our structure. We know we are on the right track and we have to continue like this," the Italian coach declared after the match.
Brazil found themselves at a disadvantage after Kaishu Sano's first-half goal, and a lacklustre performance left the five-time world champions looking like they were in danger of elimination. However, Casemiro restored parity, while Gabriel Martinelli, brought off the bench, scored the winner in stoppage time.
Ancelotti believed that the tactical changes made at half-time played a decisive role in overturning the result.
"At first we tried to create a lead in midfield, but it didn't work because they defended too tightly. In the second half we changed our approach, played more in depth and circulated the ball better in the attacking phase. At first we had difficulty finding spaces, but then we solved this problem very well," he said.
The Italian coach also revealed that he had planned to activate Neymar in case Brazil failed to equalize the score.
"I told Neymar that if we didn't equalize by a certain point, I would put him on the pitch," Ancelotti said.
However, the 34-year-old continues to have a limited role in this edition of the World Cup. So far, Neymar has played just 15 minutes as a substitute in the match against Scotland, at a time when Brazil's victory was already assured.
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