SÃO PAULO-. The fans of football in brazil They were already disappointed after a year in which they saw poor results, a coaching void and a political confrontation in their country’s federation.
Things got worse on Sunday after Brazil failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics thanks to a loss to archrival Argentina, meaning the two-time defending champion will not be part of the tournament this summer.
“It’s sad, but it’s rather embarrassing,” forward John Kennedy said after the 1-0 loss. “We should have wanted the victory more than we did.”
Brazil also failed in its attempt to qualify for the 1992 and 2004 editions of the Olympic tournament, but those setbacks did not coincide with a crisis for the senior team, which is in sixth place in South America’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup and Their biggest star Neymar has been out of action with a serious knee injury since October.
Some fans and analysts had hoped that 17-year-old forward Endrick — who is scheduled to join Real Madrid in the summer — could be the cause of some optimism by showing his talent during the Olympic qualifying tournament. And many wanted to see Endrick and 32-year-old veteran Neymar play together on the Olympic team in Paris and lead Brazil to an unprecedented third gold medal.
But the Brazilian youth player only scored two goals in seven games in the Olympic qualification. The Argentine world champion Thiago Almada scored five.
The Olympic soccer tournament is made up mostly of players under 23 years of age and does not have the same prestige as the World Cup or continental championships, such as the Copa América that starts in June, but not participating stings the pride of many Brazilians.
Especially for those who see Endrick as the country’s next big star and have hoped he will show that he can help lead the senior team in attack alongside Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo in the Copa América.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s senior team will return to action with friendly matches in March against England and Spain amid serious concerns about its current status.
Last year, Brazil lost a World Cup qualifying match at home for the first time in history; 1-0 against Argentina at the Maracaná stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. They also lost in Uruguay and Colombia in the South American round-robin competition after two poor performances.
New coach Dorival Júnior was recently hired in January after the president of the Brazilian soccer confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, failed to fulfill his promise to bring in Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid. Previous coach Tite resigned after Brazil lost in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup and the team had been led by Fernando Diniz as interim last year.
The frustration of watching Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar, as well as the last edition of the Copa América, has only added pressure for Dorival as he takes over, even before Sunday’s defeat.
History, however, has shown that not participating in the Olympic Games does not mean compromising the future completely.
The team that did not qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Games included Cafu, Márcio Santos and Roberto Carlos, who later won the World Cup. And the team that did not attend Athens in 2004 included the likes of Maicon, Diego and Robinho.
Source: AP
