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Brazil's head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, expressed his disappointment after his team's early exit from the World Cup, falling 2-1 to Norway in the Round of 16. He defended his squad selection, stating that his team had ample opportunities to secure a victory.
"I believe Brazil had the right squad to fight for the win. Initially, it seemed we were in control and created clear-cut chances. However, it was incredibly difficult to implement a high press because Norway dropped Martin Ødegaard very deep. This made pressing risky, as it left our defenders in one-on-one situations against Erling Haaland's pace," Ancelotti commented.
He also offered an explanation for the decision to have Bruno Guimarães take the first penalty of the match, which he subsequently missed.
"We analyzed the statistics of our players and the opposition's players for an entire year. Raphinha was the best penalty taker in this squad. Among the other available players at that moment, Neymar had the highest percentage, followed by Igor, then Bruno Guimarães, and only then Martinelli. We chose Bruno Guimarães because we believed he was in the best condition at that specific moment in the game to score," the Italian added.
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