Rio de Janeiro.- The need for renewal of the Brazilian national team following their elimination in the 2026 World Cup after falling 2-1 to Norway in the round of 16, and the search for those responsible for the historic setback, stand out among the issues addressed by the main Brazilian newspapers this Monday.
Overall, the Brazilian press agreed on four key points when discussing the Canarinha’s elimination: the decisive figure of Haaland, author of the two Norwegian goals; the criticism of the tactical decisions made by manager Carlo Ancelotti; the penalty missed by Bruno Guimarães; and the fact that this is Brazil’s worst performance in a World Cup since the FIFA Italy 1990 World Cup.
The newspaper ‘O Globo’, one of the most influential in Brazil, dedicated its front page to an analysis of the need for renewal in the Canarinha and who should continue in the new cycle leading up to the 2030 World Cup, in which Ancelotti is already confirmed as head coach.
“After the national team’s elimination in the round of 16, who should stay and who should go in the next World Cup cycle,” headlined the Rio newspaper, for which, as a 24-year period without world titles comes to an end, “it is now necessary to focus on the next edition.”
For this morning edition, big stars still at competition age in 2030 have great chances of continuing, among whom are Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, Matheus Cunha, Bruno Guimarães, Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhães, while young prospects like Endrick and Rayan have already received the signal from Ancelotti that they will be the faces of the future in the group.
Conversely, among the veterans, the trend is for them to lose ground. Among the latter, he cites Casemiro, Danilo, Alex Sandro, and, primarily, Neymar, who on Sunday hinted that he was saying goodbye to the team with the defeat.
“Brazil falls defeated and the dream of the sixth title ends,” stated the newspaper ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’, the one with the largest circulation in the country, which highlighted how “a cyborg annihilated” the Canarinha in a reference to Erling Haaland’s performance.
Folha was especially critical of the national team’s lack of ball control, which, it explained, highlighted the lack of midfielders in the squad called up by Ancelotti. “Brazil had only 34% possession of the ball in Sunday’s match against Norway, the lowest mark for a Brazilian team in a World Cup match,” the São Paulo newspaper asserted.
The newspaper ‘O Estado de Sao Paulo’ pointed out among those to blame for the elimination the missed penalty by Bruno Guimarães and the defensive errors that allowed the Norwegian striker’s brace.
The sports portal GE, the one with the largest internet audience, published an analysis titled “Anatomy of the elimination” in which it attributes a good part of the collapse to the changes made by Ancelotti in the second half.
Equally critical were the columnists from the UOL portal, among them PVC, for whom “Brazil cannot afford to have only 32% possession” of the ball in a match, while Arnaldo Ribeiro summarized the elimination in one sentence: “Ancelotti died hugging Neymar”.
Regarding the Italian coach, critics cite his controversial decision to call up an injured Neymar for the World Cup, his insistence on playing Vinícius in a position where he does not perform comfortably, his mistake in not calling up more midfielders, and the order he gave for Bruno Guimarães, with almost no experience, to take the penalty that was missed.
“The sad figure of Neymar in the history of the World Cups,” headlined Veja, Brazil’s most important weekly magazine, which harshly criticized the top scorer in the history of the Canarinha for wasting precious time on controversies on the pitch.
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“Neymar’s ridiculous and unnecessary behavior illustrates how he will be remembered in the annals of football: he was undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, wastes of a star player,” the weekly magazine stated.
