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What went wrong for Brazil at the World Cup? How Carlo Ancelotti's side suffered Round of 16 exit to Norway originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Brazil fans have begun to get used to disappointment over the last two decades, as their early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup reeks of yet another failure on the global stage.
A 2-1 defeat to Erling Haaland and Norway at MetLife Stadium on Sunday saw Carlo Ancelotti's time at the World Cup come to a disappointing end in the Round of 16, as they were unable to avoid the executioner's axe.
It represents the fifth time in the six years since their last World Cup title in 2002 that Brazil have failed to even reach the semifinals, while their lone appearance in the last four resulted in the infamous defeat to Germany on home soil.
The Sporting News breaks down what happened in their latest World Cup failure, as Ancelotti takes stock of where the federation sits in its current state, and how they can move forward towards the 2030 tournament.
MORE:A minute-by-minute recap of Brazil vs. Norway with highlights and commentary
What went wrong for Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Missed chances
Over all the other issues that presented themselves, the biggest problem for Brazil in the end was, simply, missed chances. Sometimes, the all just doesn't go in the net. That's football.
Brazil underperformed their expected goals (xG) in four of their five World Cup games. Overall, they scored 10 goals on 12.02 xG, but that doesn't tell the whole story. If you take away the Haiti game, where they scored four goals on 1.75 xG, then Brazil scored just six goals on 10.27 xG.
In the knockout match they lost to Norway, Brazil had a Bruno Guimaraes penalty saved, and Endrick missed a one-on-one chance where he had only the goalkeeper to beat. That right there was the difference in the game. And you can go all the way back to the opener against Morocco where Igor Thiago was abysmal in front of goal and didn't see another minute at the tournament.
Vinicius Jr. came to party in front of goal, but there was nobody there to help him.
Midfield struggles left Bruno Guimaraes all alone
A huge problem for Brazil in this tournament was their midfield, and it forced Carlo Ancelotti to alter the way Brazil would have liked to play.
Casemiro looked revitalized this season at Manchester United, but suddenly begun to show his age at the World Cup, as the 34-year-old was a liability both on and off the ball. He remained an aerial force in the penalty area, but otherwise, he was a massive problem in the middle of the pitch. Ancelotti could see it, substituting him off at halftime not once but twice, but continued to start him nonetheless.
Next to him, Lucas Paqueta was equally poor until an injury ruled him out of the World Cup. Bruno Guimaraes played relatively well all things considered, but had far too much weight on his shoulders to be as effective as he can be when set up to succeed. The entire midfield responsibility ended up at the feet of Guimaraes, who was asked to defend, possess, resist the press, and create chances through the middle. It was far too much to do and held him back.
Poor defending in big moments
Brazil's center-back pairing brought one defender from each of this year's Champions League finalists. It was expected that the duo of Marquinhos and Gabriel would be a strength of the team.
Instead, the two wilted in bid moments. Gabriel especially was victimized on numerous occasions, most notably by his club rival Erling Haaland on Norway's opening goal in the Round of 16.
They often continued to drop too deep on certain plays when opponents were running at them, and failed to pressure opponents. This was the story on Haaland's second goal, when nobody stepped to pressure him as he pummeled the ball inside the far post.
Injuries to Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta
The injuries to Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta played a big role in leaving this team thin. The loss of the former was devastating, as it left them to start Bournemouth youngster Rayan who, while talented, is nowhere near the player Raphinha is.
At Barcelona, Raphinha has developed into a world-class off-ball winger, providing an excellent foil from volume on-ball attacker Vinicius. When he went down, Rayan just couldn't re-create the presence that Raphinha provided, and it made a huge drop-off in starting talent.
Carlo Ancelotti got out-coached by Stale Solbakken
In the Round of 16 defeat to Norway, Carlo Ancelotti got flat-out out-coached by Stale Solbakken.
Brazil knew their midfield was a mess, and instead of consistently turning the ball over and allowing Norway to get out on the counter where they are at their best, they intentionally conceded possession to the European side, figuring that Norway would be stuck when in possession.
That was the case, but it worked out in Norway's favor. They knew they could be patient and wait for their chance to feed Erling Haaland in front of goal, while Brazil would eventually be pressured to come out of their shell and create chances as the favorite.
"That was our plan, to keep the ball as much as we could and from the beginning we knew we would have the ball," Solbakken said after the match when asked by The Sporting News if he was surprised at how much Brazil gave them possession willingly. "We wanted to be slow. Perhaps what we did wrong in the first half was we played two or three balls into the middle where they counter-attacked against us, that's why we made the substitutions. That's why we played in the outside zones. We knew that we had seen Brazil's counter-attacking, it goes very fast, and we also knew that when they get the ball in the front half, then they push Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes into the box. So we wanted to counteract that by keeping the ball."
In the end, Brazil were undone by the very tactic they came into the match hoping would be their pathway to success. Carlo Ancelotti is one of the best managers in the world, but he was soundly beaten in this game.
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