Brazilian soccer’s crisis deepens after missing out on Paris Olympics
SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer followers had been already in a funk after a 12 months that noticed a string of poor outcomes, a training void and a political tug-of-war on the nation’s federation.
Things acquired even worse Sunday after Brazil did not qualify for the Paris Olympics because of a loss to archrival Argentina, which means the two-time defending champion is not going to be a part of the match this summer season.
“It is sad, but it is more of an embarrassment,” striker John Kennedy mentioned after the 1-0 loss. “We should have wanted to win more than we did.”
Brazil additionally did not qualify for the 1992 and 2004 editions of the Olympic match, however these blips didn’t coincide with a disaster for the senior nationwide crew. Brazil is barely in sixth place in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and its largest star Neymar has been out with a severe knee harm since October.
Some followers and analysts had hoped 17-year-old striker Endrick — who is about to affix Real Madrid this summer season — would supply some trigger for optimism by showcasing his expertise in the course of the Olympic qualifying match. Many supporters had been hoping to see Endrick and the 32-year-old Neymar play collectively on the Olympic crew in Paris and lead Brazil to an unprecedented third straight gold medal.
But the Brazilian teenager scored solely twice in seven matches in Olympic qualifying. Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder Thiago Almada netted 5.
The Olympic soccer match options primarily Under-23 gamers and doesn’t carry almost the identical standing because the World Cup or continental championships — such because the Copa America that begins in June — however lacking out utterly nonetheless stings the satisfaction of many Brazilians.
Especially those that are viewing Endrick because the nation’s subsequent huge star, and had been anticipating him to indicate that he might assist lead the senior crew’s assault alongside Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo on the Copa America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s senior crew will return to motion in March in friendlies towards England and Spain amid severe issues about its present type.
Last 12 months, Brazil misplaced a house match in World Cup qualifying for the primary time ever; 1-0 to Argentina on the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It additionally misplaced at Uruguay and Colombia within the South American round-robin competitors after two poor performances.
New coach Dorival Júnior was solely employed in January after the president of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, failed to satisfy his promise to usher in Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti. Previous coach Tite stepped down after Brazil misplaced within the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, and the crew had been led by Fernando Diniz on an interim foundation final 12 months.
The frustration of seeing Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar in addition to the final Copa America has solely added to the stress going through Dorival as he takes up the job — even earlier than Sunday’s loss.
“Brazil wasted a full year in preparations because we waited for a top coach (Ancelotti) who had signed no contract with us,” mentioned former Brazil left-back Júnior. “We burned a promising coach, Fernando Diniz, just so he could be interim for a year. The time to fix all this for the next World Cup is very short.”
Rodrigues, the confederation head, can be going through requires his resignation. He was eliminated by a Rio de Janeiro court docket in December as a consequence of irregularities in his election however returned weeks later after a ruling from Brazil’s prime court docket. His full case is but to be reviewed.
History, although, exhibits that lacking out on the Olympics doesn’t essentially bode ailing for the long run.
The crew that did not qualify for the Barcelona Games in 1992 included Cafu, Márcio Santos and Roberto Carlos, who all went on to win the World Cup. The squad that missed out on the Athens Games in 2004 included future stars Maicon, Diego and Robinho.
“They will have to prove this elimination is no different from those two,” mentioned 2002 World Cup winner Vampeta. “There’s nice gamers on this crew, however they are going to be judged by whether or not they can drag the senior crew out of the quagmire it’s in now. It is an uphill battle to finish this disaster.”
