Ancelotti makes a statement that deepens Brazil's pain for the World Cup

The defeat to Norway still leaves much regret for the Brazilian team and coach Carlo Ancelotti. In his latest sharing, the 66-year-old strategist revealed the moment he believes Selecao lost their chance to advance at the World Cup.

Although the 2026 World Cup ended many days ago, the echoes of the Brazilian team's defeat have not faded. In his latest sharing, coach Carlo Ancelotti for the first time revealed his perspective on why Selecao missed out on the title. Before the tournament, the yellow-and-green team was considered one of the top contenders after the Italian strategist convincingly secured their spot.

The yellow-and-green team had a good start by topping Group C to qualify for the round of 16. Brazil then defeated Japan 2-1, thereby reaching the quarterfinals against Norway. However, a 1-2 loss to the European representative ended Selecao's journey, and Ancelotti recently pointed out exactly the moment he believes the team lost their chance to go further. The Italian strategist particularly emphasized that the water break was the turning point of the match.

"I think we lost the World Cup during the water break in the match against Norway." That is a notable remark from Ancelotti when looking back at the defeat to the Nordic opponent. According to the 66-year-old coach, Brazil was still controlling the game well before the match was interrupted, despite Norway maintaining a high possession rate in their own half and persisting with the style of play they used against England.

The Italian manager continued to analyze:"Until that point, the team was completely in control of the game. It's true that Norway had a lot of possession in their own half, and they also played in a similar way when they faced England. They controlled the match and could have won it." These comments show that Ancelotti did not underestimate the opponent, but believed that Brazil was still in an active position before everything changed.

What the former Real Madrid coach regrets most is the decision to make personnel adjustments after the break. He admitted: "Perhaps my mistake was thinking that the team had lost control of the game when in fact it hadn't. I made a few personnel changes, and then we paid the price with Erling Haaland's goal." Two late goals from the Norwegian striker ended Brazil's dream of winning the championship, while Ancelotti's self-acceptance of responsibility became a notable highlight when he looked back on his first World Cup campaign with Selecao.