Argentina’s Luciano Gondou, proper, scores his aspect’s solely purpose towards Brazil throughout South America’s under-23 pre-Olympic match soccer match at Brigido Iriarte stadium in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Brazilian soccer followers had been already in a funk after a 12 months that noticed a string of poor outcomes, a training void and a political tug of warfare on the nation’s federation.
Things received even worse Sunday after Brazil didn’t qualify for the Paris Olympics because of a loss to archrival Argentina, which means the two-time defending champion won’t be a part of the match this summer time.
“It is sad, but it is more of an embarrassment,” striker John Kennedy mentioned after the 1-0 loss. “We should have wanted to win more than we did.”
Brazil additionally didn’t qualify for the 1992 and 2004 editions of the Olympic match, however these blips did not coincide with a crisis for the senior nationwide workforce. Brazil is barely in sixth place in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and its greatest star Neymar has been out with a severe knee damage since October.
Some followers and analysts had hoped 17-year-old striker Endrick — who is about to hitch Real Madrid this summer time — would supply some trigger for optimism by showcasing his expertise through the Olympic qualifying match. And many supporters had been hoping to see Endrick and the 32-year-old Neymar play collectively on the Olympic workforce in Paris and lead Brazil to an unprecedented third straight gold medal.
But the Brazilian teenager scored solely twice in seven matches in Olympic qualifying. Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder Thiago Almada netted 5.
The Olympic soccer match options primarily Under-23 gamers and doesn’t carry almost the identical standing because the World Cup or contintental championships — such because the Copa America that begins in June — however missing out utterly nonetheless stings the satisfaction of many Brazilians.
Especially those that are viewing Endrick because the nation’s subsequent large star, and had been anticipating him to indicate that he may assist lead the senior workforce’s assault alongside Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo on the Copa America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s senior workforce will return to motion in March in friendlies towards England and Spain amid severe issues about its present type.
Last 12 months, Brazil misplaced a house match in World Cup qualifying for the primary time ever; 1-0 to Argentina on the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It additionally misplaced at Uruguay and Colombia within the South American round-robin competitors after two poor performances.
New coach Dorival Júnior was solely employed in January after the president of the Brazilian soccer confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, failed to meet his promise to herald Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti. Previous coach Tite stepped down after Brazil misplaced within the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, and the workforce had been led by Fernando Diniz on an interim foundation final 12 months.
The frustration of seeing Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar in addition to the final Copa America has solely added to the strain dealing with Dorival as he takes up the job — even earlier than Sunday’s loss.
“Brazil wasted a full year in preparations because we waited for a top coach (Ancelotti) who had signed no contract with us,” mentioned former Brazil left-back Júnior. “We burned a promising coach, Fernando Diniz, just so he could be interim for a year. The time to fix all this for the next World Cup is very short.”
Rodrigues, the conferederation head, can also be dealing with requires his resignation. He was eliminated by a Rio de Janeiro court docket in December attributable to irregularities in his election however returned weeks later after a ruling from Brazil’s prime court docket. His full case is but to be reviewed.
History, although, exhibits that missing out on the Olympics does not essentially bode sick for the longer term.
The workforce that didn’t qualify for the Barcelona Games in 1992 included Cafu, Márcio Santos and Roberto Carlos, who all went on to win the World Cup. And the squad that missed out on the Athens Games in 2004 included future stars Maicon, Diego and Robinho.
“They will have to prove this elimination is no different from those two,” mentioned 2002 World Cup winner Vampeta. “There’s nice gamers on this workforce, however they are going to be judged by whether or not they can drag the senior workforce out of the quagmire it’s in now. It is an uphill battle to finish this crisis.”
