No manager, no form, no confidence: what is going on with Brazil?

I n order to avoid potential fallings-out in Brazil, people are advised to refrain from discussing three subjects: religion, politics and football. One thing that everyone can surely agree on at the moment, though, is that the national team are struggling. The team usually give a nation of vira-lataswith an inherent inferiority complex a rare chance to boast superiority over the rest of the world – perhaps only matched at the height of Ayrton Senna’s powers, or by the people who believe that Alberto Santos‑Dumont and not the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane – but watching the Seleção has been a dismal experience of late.

Brazil are expected to win every game, usually in style, so being knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage and then losing two of their three games since Qatar – to Morocco and Senegal – simply won’t do. The truth is, though, this may be a long‑overdue reality check.

Losing to such teams was once unthinkable. Brazil beat Morocco 3-0 on their way to the World Cup final at France 98, for example. But their recent defeats – 2-1 to Morocco in March and 4-2 to Senegal this week – suggest their standing in international football has declined.

These teams are not the minnows they once were. Senegal are the champions of Africa and Morocco reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in December, beating Spain and Portugal before coming up short against France in the last four – a stage of the competition Brazil have reached just once since their most recent World Cup triumph in 2002. But, given the way they are playing, Brazil do not look capable of beating anyone.

When Sadio Mané wrapped up Senegal’s 4-2 win this week, the commentators on Brazilian TV station Globo fumed about the state of