The situation is chaotic from the dismissal of the coach.
Argentina defeated Brazil 4-1 in the 14th round of the World Cup South American qualifiers held on the 26th (Korea time) at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
With this victory, Argentina recorded 10 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses (31 points), maintaining its lead in the South American qualifiers. Even if they lose all of their remaining 4 matches, they have secured at least 6th place, which guarantees direct qualification for the finals.
In the South American qualifiers, the top 6 countries qualify directly for the World Cup, and the 7th place will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Argentina will participate in the finals for the 14th consecutive time, having qualified for the World Cup since the 1974 West Germany World Cup. This marks their 19th qualification overall. They were the first South American nation to secure a spot in the finals. Worldwide, they became the fourth nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, following Japan, New Zealand, and Iran.
The match was played without Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez (both Argentina). However, Argentina took the lead with Julian Alvarez's (Atletico Madrid) opening goal in the 4th minute and Nahuel Molina's (Atletico Madrid) additional goal in the 12th minute. They conceded a goal to Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton) in the 26th minute but widened the gap again with a goal from Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) in the 37th minute.
In the 26th minute of the second half, a closing goal by Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid) led Argentina to a 4-1 victory.
On the other hand, Brazil suffered a shocking defeat and found themselves in a precarious position in the qualifying race. Brazil has 6 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses (21 points), maintaining 4th place in the South American qualifiers, but the point difference with 7th place Venezuela (15 points) is only 6 points. They have only achieved 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss in their last 5 matches.
In light of the decline of the Samba squad, there are renewed calls for Neymar's return in Brazilian football. Neymar was not included in the squad for this national team due to injury.
Felipe Melo, a former member of the Brazilian national team, noted, "The Argentina national team played well. However, there was a significant gap between the two teams," adding, "The Brazil national team was at its worst. They don’t seem to concentrate at all during the match."
After Neymar became injury-prone again and was absent from the Brazilian national team, there were opinions suggesting he may no longer be needed. Felipe emphasized, "Honestly, look at the state of the national team. There is simply no player near Neymar." He added, "To be blunt, even if Neymar were on one leg, he would still be the best-performing ‘10’ (ace) on the current national team."
After the match, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced the dismissal of Coach Dorival. Brazil 'UOL' reported, "The dismissal of Coach Dorival was decided through a CBF meeting. Ultimately, the defeat against Argentina was a decisive factor, but the consistently poor performance since his appointment has been an issue," pointing out that "they were tactically outmatched by Argentina in the match."
UOL stated, "There were issues with Dorival's tactics and player selections. He has also faced significant criticism for taking his son Lucas Silvestre as a coach and bringing him along as part of his team." Furthermore, it emphasized that "the Director General of the national team, Rodrigo Caetano, is also likely to be dismissed."
Although Brazil has maintained a pureblood policy, it is highly likely that the national team will also hire a foreign coach. UOL emphasized, "There is no precise candidate for the coach yet, but a foreign coach is a priority. Carlo Ancelotti is a strong candidate, but Jorge Jesus is also under consideration."
Meanwhile, there are renewed rumors of the return of Coach Tite in Brazil. He took over the Brazil national team in 2016 and led it until 2023. He returned the Brazil national team, which had been wavering since the Dunga regime, back to being a strong team, but struggled in major tournaments such as the World Cup and Copa America.
In the 2018 Brazil World Cup, they were eliminated by Belgium 1-2. They won the 2019 Copa but finished as runners-up in the 2021 Copa. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, they won 4-1 against South Korea in the round of 16 but suffered a defeat to Croatia in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout, experiencing another disappointment in the quarter-finals.
Coach Tite received much criticism in his home country for failing to achieve results in two consecutive World Cup matches. After that, Coach Chichi declined offers to manage the South Korean national team and took over Flamengo but was dismissed. He was rumored to take over as the successor to Coach Roberto Mancini in Saudi Arabia, but that fell through.
Foreign coaches have complex issues regarding contract periods, while Coach Tite is currently unemployed and can be quickly recruited. Additionally, the national team ace Neymar and veterans are influencing Tite's potential return. UOL highlighted, "Neymar has consistently expressed his favor for Tite. Another strong candidate, Jesus, had a conflict with Neymar during his time at Al Hilal, which led to him leaving the team."
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