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Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted his side’s shock exit from the 2026 World Cup should be seen as the start of a new era rather than the end of the journey after the five-time champions were eliminated by Norway in the last 16.Brazil’s campaign ended in disappointment with a 2-1 defeat as Erling Haaland scored twice in the second half to send Norway into the quarter-finals for the first time in the history of the men’s national team. Neymar converted a penalty deep into stoppage time, but it proved to be a consolation as Brazil were knocked out of the World Cup for the first time since 1990.The result was a major setback for one of the tournament favourites, who topped Group C after drawing with Morocco and beating Haiti and Scotland before beating Japan 2-1 in the round of 16.Reflecting on the defeat, Ancelotti admitted that the mood in the Brazilian camp was deeply disappointed, but remained confident that the setback would lay the foundations for future success.“It is obvious that we are all deeply saddened because the team has not had a spectacular World Cup so far, but a good one. I think we could have deserved a victory in today’s match. When a moment like this happens, you have to think that defeat is the beginning of a new adventure. I believe that this defeat is not the end, it is the beginning of a new cycle,” he said.Brazil created several chances during the competition, but failed to capitalize on them. Bruno Guimarães missed a first-half penalty to equalise, while Casemiro failed to beat Neymar with a cross during a promising attack that could have led to an equaliser.Ancelotti also defended the decision to allow Guimarães to take the penalty instead of Vinícius Júnior, explaining that his coaching staff had spent a year analyzing the team’s penalty-taking options. With Neymar not on the pitch at the time and Raphinha unavailable due to injury, Guimarães was identified as the designated player.Despite the painful departure, Ancelotti emphasized that his focus has already shifted to rebuilding the national team ahead of the next World Cup.“We will continue to work for the national team, try to improve and look for new ideas. The same as we did this year. I think we did well, football is like that, sometimes you have to deal with the sadness of defeat. I’m used to it. “We will overcome this defeat with a new momentum in our work and evaluation of players,” he concluded.Brazil captain Marquinhos echoed his manager’s frustration, admitting the team failed to capitalize on the chances they created.“We really failed in the chances we created,” Marquinhos said. “We had a penalty, we had other opportunities, but there you have the World Cup. Those who make the fewest mistakes can advance to the next round and win.”The defeat brought an end to Brazil’s remarkable record in the knockout stages of the World Cup. Before facing Norway, the Seleção had played 11 previous round of 16 matches, winning nine, drawing once and losing just once. Their only previous defeat at this stage came against Argentina in 1990, while they went against Chile on penalties after a draw in 2014.Brazil also saw their run of eight consecutive World Cup quarter-finals end, their first failure to reach the last eight since 1990.The defeat continued another unwanted trend, with Brazil now suffering seven consecutive World Cup knockout defeats by European opposition since beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquetá further compounded the team’s woes as the tournament favorites went home much earlier than expected.
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