Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that his aspect “fell aside mentally” after struggling a surprising 3–2 defeat to Japan in Tokyo on Tuesday — their first-ever loss to the Asian giants. The consequence marked a setback for the five-time world champions, who had been displaying indicators of progress below the Italian supervisor forward of subsequent yr’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
Ancelotti, who took cost of Brazil in Could following a patchy World Cup qualifying marketing campaign, has targeted on constructing a group that mixes tactical adaptability with psychological energy. Nevertheless, Tuesday’s collapse underlined that his younger squad nonetheless has work to do on the psychological aspect of their sport.
Talking after the match, Ancelotti didn’t conceal his frustration with the consequence. “No, all the pieces just isn’t nice. When the group loses, we’re upset, which is regular. Everyone seems to be upset. I do not wish to lose, and neither do the gamers. We have now to be taught from this defeat, as we at all times do in soccer,” he mentioned.
The coach recognized a vital defensive lapse because the turning level of the sport. “Till (Fabricio) Bruno’s mistake on the primary objective, the sport was properly managed. After that, the group fell aside mentally. That was the group’s largest mistake,” Ancelotti defined. “I do not suppose the second half was unhealthy total, however the error had an excessive amount of of an affect on the gamers.”
Brazil had gone into the match buoyed by a commanding 5–0 win over South Korea simply days earlier, however Ancelotti’s choice to rotate his beginning lineup raised eyebrows after the defeat. The coach defended his strategy, insisting that such modifications have been a part of the group’s broader growth course of.
When requested if errors like Bruno’s may affect his World Cup squad choiceAncelotti was clear in his response. “Particular person errors don’t have an effect on a participant’s presence within the group. What we now have to guage is the group’s response after the primary mistake, which was not good as a result of we misplaced a bit of of our stability on the pitch, our optimistic considering. It is a good lesson for the long run,” he mentioned.
Wanting forward, Brazil will play Senegal and Tunisia in November friendlies scheduled in England and France. Ancelotti described the approaching months as a vital testing interval for his group. “This and the following worldwide break are testing intervals, and we are going to proceed testing in November,” he mentioned. “The group performed very properly towards Korea, properly within the first half in the present day, and really poorly within the second half.
“Within the World Cup, we now have to strike a stability. We should be taught from our errors. It was a very good lesson tonight. I believe we have to discover stability in what we do. It is a course of…”
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