Brazil end year in poor shape under interim coach as they wait for word from Carlo Ancelotti

RIO DE JANEIRO: Until this year, Brazil’s national soccer team had never lost three games in a row. The Selecao had never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home.

They had never had anything but win against a visiting Venezuela team, for many years the weakest in South America.
Interim coach Fernando Diniz, however, has had to endure all those setbacks in only a few months on the job — all while Brazil hope that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will soon take over.
Diniz’s troubles, and the lack of a confirmed answer from Ancelotti, have increased the pressure on the Brazilian team, even though qualifying for the expanded 2026 World Cup is still expected despite a 1-0 loss to Argentina on Tuesday.
The top six teams in the South American qualifying group will gain direct entry to the 48-team tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-place team can earn a berth in an intercontinental playoff.
Brazil, the only team never to miss a World Cup, have won only three of nine matches in 2023 — the national team’s poorest record in years.

The five-time World Cup champions are in sixth place in the 10-team South American qualifying group with seven points after six matches — eight behind leader Argentina. Performances have been equally disappointing.
Many soccer analysts in Brazil say the team have struggled this year because Diniz has had little time to implement his tactics.

Injuries and dwindling performances have also contributed to the team’s poor form.
The 49-year-old Diniz, who took over in July, has split his time with the national team and Brazilian club Fluminense. That alone has drawn the ire of some of his club’s fans and those of the national team.