Ancelotti targets Copa America glory with Brazil after World Cup exit as he reflects on Norway defeat

Carlo Ancelotti has set winning the 2028 Copa America as his primary objective with Brazil after their underwhelming last-16 exit to Norway at the 2026 World Cup, which he believes marked the end of a key generation headed by Neymar.

Brazil were knocked out in the first knockout round by Norway, their worst World Cup campaign since 1990, prompting intense scrutiny of Ancelotti and his plans for the national side.

Speaking to Brazilian broadcaster Globo, the Italy coach admitted the defeat had left a deep emotional mark but insisted it would serve as a starting point for rebuilding around a younger core.

“After the defeat, I thought it was important to take some time to reflect, to recover and to study exactly what happened, and then plan the future carefully,” Ancelotti said.

He explained that he chose to spend the immediate aftermath with his family, while also maintaining discussions with his staff and the Brazilian Football Confederation to “try to improve our performances and plan the new team”.

“This was not an easy period because of the sadness and disappointment. It’s a different kind of defeat because it’s at a World Cup. Unlike in club football, you don’t have the time to react and recover, and the effects of losing stay with you for much longer,” he added.

‘End of a generation’ and focus on 2028

Ancelotti believes the 2026 tournament effectively closes the chapter on several of Brazil’s most established figures.

“I think this World Cup represents the end of a very important generation of players, starting with Neymar, then Danilo, Casemiro and all the players who were over 30 at the tournament,” he said.

The 65-year-old stressed that his work now is to develop a new core of players, not only with a view to the 2030 World Cup but with a more immediate target.

“We will work on developing new players who can come in, not necessarily for the 2030 World Cup, but to be very competitive for the first goal, which is the 2028 Copa America,” he said. “We must have a close relationship with the Under-20 team, which is preparing for the Olympic Games.”

Ancelotti underlined that Brazil have four years to reshape the side, noting that the first year of his tenure was complicated by injuries.

“We had to do a lot in the first year, and we also had eight injuries between March and June, which changed the structure of the team a bit,” he explained.

“We will always be under pressure, but I think that pressure will ease with time. Our first target will not be the 2030 World Cup – it will be the Copa America. We will try to win the Copa America in 2028.”

Goalkeeper succession and assessment

Ancelotti highlighted the need to start a succession process in goal, while still valuing the current options.

“I think we need to look for new goalkeepers. There are already new goalkeepers, including young ones playing in the Brazilian league, and we must follow them,” he said.

“Taking into account the qualities that Alisson and Ederson still have, the idea is to carry out a very detailed assessment of the new goalkeepers.”

Norway loss and comparison with Spain

Reflecting on the tactical battle against Norway, Ancelotti rejected the idea that possession statistics told the full story of the last-16 defeat.

“Norway had more of the ball, but most of their possession was in their own half because Martin Odegaard was dropping very deep,” he explained.

“If you press them high, they try to escape that pressure and turn it into counter-attacks. I don’t think the possession figures are that important.”

He contrasted Brazil’s situation with that of world champions Spain, whose style underpinned their success.

“It’s true that the team that won the World Cup, Spain, had a lot of the ball, but they conceded a goal as well,” he said.

“Spain kept the ball a lot because they have a very strong generation of midfielders – they have seven of the best midfielders in the world: Fabian, Rodri, Pedri, Olmo, Zubimendi, Merino and Gavi. Seven! So Spain wanted to control games and win the World Cup.”

By contrast, Ancelotti argued that Brazil’s attacking strengths lie in different areas.

“There are matches where having less possession is not decisive, because it depends on the characteristics of the players,” he said. “When a team has forwards like Vinicius Junior, Endrick and Estevao, who are very good at breaking through defences, the opponent is forced to defend deeper than usual.

“That’s not the case for Spain, who don’t have players of that profile in attack. They have only one, Lamine, who is very strong in one-on-one situations. The rest are multi-skilled players.”

Tactical regret against Norway

Ancelotti was candid about his own role in the Norway defeat, pinpointing changes he made in the second half as a turning point.

“I think that up to the water break in the second half, the team was well positioned on the pitch,” he said.

“We had the chance to score from a penalty and with Endrick. The self-criticism I can make, which I already made after the game, is that I changed the team’s shape after the water break against Norway, and from then on we lost control of the match.”

He said bringing Neymar on was intended to tilt the game in Brazil’s favour.

“I think something changed in the team. We lost some control on the flanks. With Neymar coming in, I was thinking about regaining control of the match and putting more quality up front to win it,” he explained.

“This is part of decision-making. You have to make a choice in a knockout game. It was the same in our match against Japan. Sometimes the decisions are right because the result rewards you, and sometimes they are very bad because the result does not reward you.

“I felt the need to change something in the team. That’s why I brought on Neymar, to add more quality to the attack.”

Ancelotti insisted the Norway result should not be allowed to overshadow the wider work undertaken over his first year in charge.

“It is a mistake to judge any project only on the result,” he said. “The result of the Norway match was very bad for everyone, disappointing and very sad. But behind that there was a whole year of work preparing for the World Cup which, in our view – and not just mine – was done very well.

“It was a very fast process, full of problems, because we had eight injuries between March and June. Among them were Eder Militao, Rodrygo and then Estevao. This changed the structure we were building in a very short period of time.”

Italy approach and commitment to Brazil

Ancelotti confirmed there had been contact from the Italian federation about the possibility of him taking over the Azzurri, but said he remains fully committed to Brazil.

“There was only contact from the federation, but it’s not about the contract – it’s about commitment,” he said.

“I have a commitment to Brazil not just because I signed a contract, but because of the year I have spent here, during which I received a wonderful welcome, and I don’t want to break that commitment. I want to continue working and stay with the Brazilian national team.”

Paolo Maldini, technical director at the Italian federation, had previously revealed that he spoke with Ancelotti to explore the idea of him coaching Italy.

Since taking charge of Brazil, Ancelotti has overseen 17 matches, winning 10, drawing three and losing four.