2026 World Cup: Ancelotti Explains Brazil’s Poor Debut. Then He Lashes Out at Endrick

Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil failed to impress in their 2026 World Cup opener against Morocco. The Verdeoro drew 1-1 against the talented North Africans (Saibari’s goal was answered by Vinicius), who outplayed the Seleção for most of the match. After the game, the coach from Reggiolo commented on his team’s debut: “I don’t think we started the game well; the team was a bit nervous. We lost too many balls and too many duels.”

“The first half wasn’t good; there was a bit of anxiety, yes. They broke out of our pressure and launched dangerous counterattacks. We should have controlled things better. I can say I’m not satisfied with the result. We need to work to improve, but that’s normal. Morocco played well, showed great organization, and was a very tough opponent, but you don’t win the World Cup in the first game.”

In Brazil, criticism of his decisions is mounting, and many are calling for Endrick to be used, as he was left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes against Morocco despite the Seleção’s struggles in attack. Ancelotti wouldn’t hear of it at the press conference: “I’m not here to talk about Endrick, but about the team. The team didn’t play well in the first half, but improved in the second. We had chances. We need to improve further. We’ll make changes.”

Lucas Paquetà confirmed his coach’s assessment: “We played a bad first half. The first 25 minutes were very nerve-wracking. Anxiety got the better of our play. In the end, we conceded a goal. After Vini’s goal, we lost control of the ball. We were better in the second half.”