EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — World Cup pressure can get to anyone. Even Brazil.
That was Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti’s explanation for an uneven first-half performance by the five-time World Cup champions, who nonetheless rode Vinicius Junior’s 32nd-minute leveler to a 1-1 draw against Morocco in both teams’ Group C opener on Saturday evening.
“I think the team was a bit anxious in the beginning,” said Ancelotti, who himself was managing his first match at a World Cup despite a career that includes a record five UEFA Champions League titles as a manager. “Nerves were all over the place. (We) didn’t keep a lot of ball possession. In the second half, it was a lot better, but it was still tough, and I’m sure the team will do better in the next match.”
Indeed, Vinicius’ equalizer came decisively against the run of play for the Selecao, despite enjoying a majority of the support in the first match of the tournament played at the 80,663-capacity MetLife Stadium.
The Selecao’s performance improved after halftime, during which Ancelotti pulled off Casemiro and Roger Ibanez in favor of Fabinho and Danilo.
But there remained a sense of unease at the final whistle even from Vinicius, who was undoubtedly his nation’s best player.
“We’ve got to hold on to the ball,” said the 25-year-old Real Madrid star. “We’ve got to move better. … But I don’t think there’s a lot to say now. I think we really have to improve.”
Even the usually easy-mannered Ancelotti sounded on edge at a couple lines of questioning, including whether he opted for changes quickly enough.
“There were two substitutions in the 45th minute and another in the (61st) minute,” he said. “Do you hear what I’m saying? Two substitutions at 45th minute and another substitution at the (61st) minute. I don’t think we lost any time when it comes to substitutions.”
Ancelotti refused to criticize Casemiro or Ibanez directly, or express regret for fielding them in his starting XI. At age 34, Casemiro is out of contract at Manchester United and rumored to be leaving Europe. Ibanez plays in the Saudi Pro League.
“Those were good players,” Ancelotti said. “I think I made the right choices, and I will not take any criticism about the individual players that started the match. I think there’s criticism to the entire team that didn’t play well during the first half.”
A potential saving grace, at least for the rest of group play, is that Saturday’s match was easily Brazil’s toughest Group C test on paper. Morocco is seventh in the FIFA/Coca Cola World Rankings, only a single spot behind No. 6 Brazil.
Scotland is 37th and Haiti is 84th. Those two faced off Saturday night in the first World Cup match for either team since 1998 for Scotland and 1974 for Haiti.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
