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Carlo Ancelotti has won the Champions League four times. He has managed AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and Everton. He is, by any reasonable measure, one of the greatest club coaches in the history of the sport.
None of that prepared anyone — least of all Brazil — for what happened against Morocco.
A 1–1 draw with a team the Seleção were expected to beat. Sixty-three minutes of pressure absorbed by a Moroccan low-block with barely a clear chance created in response. A midfield that looked disorganised and toothless after half-time substitutions forced by yellow card accumulation. And a quiet, gnawing feeling that the most decorated international team in history may not yet be ready for what lies ahead.
The pressure on Carlo Ancelotti — always present, always whispered — has just become a lot louder.
The man who broke a sacred rule
Brazil have always been managed by Brazilians. It is not a written law — but it might as well have been. From Vicente Feola to Mário Zagallo to Luiz Felipe Scolari to Tite, the Seleção have been guided by men who grew up eating, breathing, and dreaming in the Brazilian football tradition.
Carlo Ancelotti changed all of that. Born in Reggiolo, Italy, in 1959, Ancelotti became the first foreign manager of the Brazilian national team. It was a statement of ambition from the CBF — and a recognition that no domestic candidate carried the stature required to lift a squad of this talent and finally end Brazil’s 24-year wait for a World Cup title.
The appointment was bold. The expectations, as always with Brazil, were absolute.
The Morocco problem
The draw against Morocco was not a disaster. Morocco are no minnows — they reached the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first African nation to do so, and they remain a deeply organised, defensively formidable side under Walid Regragui. A point against them is not shameful.
But the manner of the draw raised serious questions. At halftime, with the score level at 1–1, Ancelotti made two substitutions driven not by tactics but by card management — Casemiro and Roger Ibañez came off, both carrying yellows and the risk of suspension. Understandable logic. Catastrophic timing. Brazil’s midfield lost its anchor. What followed was 45 minutes in which Morocco barely needed to attack, as Brazil could not build sustained pressure.
Ancelotti’s push to deploy Thiago as a primary striker drew particular scrutiny. The idea — to have a physical presence leading the line while Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha operated as wide threats — looked good on paper. Against Morocco’s defensive structure, it produced almost nothing. The service dried up. The movement was predictable. And without Casemiro’s ability to break the lines from deep, the creative burden fell entirely on individuals rather than a functioning system.
Tougher tests ahead.
The draw against Morocco is one thing. What follows in the knockout stages — if Brazil get there — is another conversation entirely.
France possess perhaps the deepest squad in the tournament, with Mbappé operating alongside a supporting cast that most nations would envy. Spain are fluid and relentless, built around a generation of technically exceptional players. Argentina arrive as defending champions. England, finally, have the squad depth and tactical organisation to go deep in a tournament.
If Morocco — could suffocate Brazil’s attack for 45 minutes, what will those sides do with the same blueprint?
The options Ancelotti is considering
The days before Brazil’s next Group C match will be critical, and the adjustments being discussed go beyond personnel — they cut to the heart of how this team is set up to function.
The most pressing question is the striker role. Ancelotti’s decision to deploy Thiago as his primary number nine was designed to give Vinícius Júnior the freedom to operate from wide positions without defensive responsibility. Against Morocco’s organised block, it did not work. The movement was too predictable, the hold-up play was insufficient, and Brazil’s attack repeatedly ran into dead ends. A rethink is clearly necessary — either a different striker profile, or a shift to a system that removes the fixed number nine entirely and gives Vinícius more central license to roam and create.
Raphinha has also come under scrutiny. The Barcelona winger was expected to be one of Brazil’s creative outlets, offering width, directness, and the ability to create chances in tight spaces. Against Morocco, that influence never materialised. He failed to impose himself when Brazil needed someone to unlock a compact defence, and his performance raised questions about whether Ancelotti can trust him to deliver in the bigger matches that lie ahead.
The midfield structure is the third major area under review. Ancelotti was forced to withdraw Casemiro and Roger Ibañez at halftime to protect their yellow cards — a decision that was correct in isolation but stripped Brazil of their midfield engine at the worst possible moment. Finding a way to build a midfield that does not depend so heavily on Casemiro being available for 90 minutes is now urgent. Bruno Guimarães was Brazil’s best player against Morocco and the architect of Vinícius’s equaliser, but he cannot be the solution to every problem simultaneously.
There is also a broader structural question that Ancelotti must answer. Brazil looked most dangerous in transition — Vinícius’s equaliser came directly from one such moment — but they could not produce those moments consistently enough to threaten a disciplined side. Against France, Spain, Argentina, or England, those teams will not sit back and allow Brazil the kind of passive second half that Morocco largely dictated. The system needs to create chances through design and movement, not rely solely on individual brilliance to conjure something from nothing.
A great coach in an impossible job
Ancelotti has been under pressure before. He steadied Real Madrid amid instability and led the team to a Champions League title no one expected. He knows how to manage moments of doubt.
But Brazil is not a club. There are no transfer windows, no mid-season rebuilds, no quiet weeks to work on training ground shape. There are only matches — and with each match, the scrutiny grows. The first non-Brazilian to manage the Seleção cannot afford to look uncertain. Not at a FIFA World Cup 2026™. Not with this squad. Not with this country watching.
The Morocco result was a warning. Whether Ancelotti — calm, experienced, unflappable — can turn that warning into a correction will define whether Brazil are genuine contenders or expensive underachievers at this tournament.
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