Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted his side’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup should be seen as the start of a new season rather than the end of their journey after the five-time champions were knocked out by Norway in the Round of 16.Brazil’s campaign came to a disappointing end with a 2-1 defeat, with Erling Haaland scoring twice in the second half to send Norway into the quarter-finals for the first time in men’s history. Neymar converted the goal into stoppage time, but it proved to be a consolation as Brazil suffered their first World Cup exit since 1990.The result was a major setback for one of the favorites to top Group C after drawing with Morocco and defeating Haiti and Scotland before going past Japan 2-1 in the Round of 32.Reflecting on the defeat, Ancelotti admitted that what happened at the Brazilian club was very disappointing, but remained confident that his return would lay the foundations for future success.“It is clear that all of us are very sad because this team was, until now, not an impressive World Cup but a good one. I think that in today’s game we can be qualified to win. When a moment like this happens, you have to think that the defeat is the beginning of a new journey. I believe that this defeat is not the end, it is the beginning of a new cycle,” he said.Brazil created several chances throughout the tournament but failed to make them count. Bruno Guimarães missed a penalty in the first half with the goal level, while Casemiro was unable to pick out Neymar with a cross in a promising counterattack that would have equalized.Ancelotti also defended the decision to allow Guimarães to take the penalty in place of VinÃcius Júnior, explaining that his coaches had spent a year evaluating the team’s options. Neymar was not on the field at the time and Raphinha was unavailable due to injury, Guimarães was announced as the chosen one.Despite the painful exit, Ancelotti insisted his focus had shifted to rebuilding the national side ahead of the next World Cup.“We will continue to work for the national team trying to improve and look for new ideas, the same thing we did this year, I think the work was good, football is like that, sometimes you have to deal with the sadness of defeat. I’m used to that. We will overcome this defeat with a new motivation in work and evaluation of the players,” he concluded.Brazil international Marquinhos shared his manager’s frustration, admitting that the team failed to capitalize on the opportunities they created.“We missed a lot of the chances we created,” Marquinhos said. “We had a penalty, we had another chance, but the World Cup is yours. Those who make few mistakes can go ahead and win. “The defeat ended Brazil’s remarkable record in World Cup defeats. Before meeting Norway, the Seleção played 11 previous Round of 16 matches, won nine, drew one and lost just one. Their last defeat during this period came against Argentina in 1990, while they were held to a penalty shootout by Chile in 2014.Brazil also saw their streak of eight consecutive World Cup quarter-finals come to an end, marking their first failure to reach the last eight since 1990.The loss continued another unwanted streak, with Brazil losing seven straight against European opposition since beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquetá further compounded the team’s woes as fans returned home earlier than expected.
