At halftime in Houston, Brazil was in real trouble. Down 1-0 to Japan. Stuck in midfield. And Casemiro, the veteran holding midfielder playing his last game before a move away from Manchester United, was having an absolute nightmare.
He was slow to react on Japan’s goal. He picked up a yellow card early. He gave the ball away cheaply. He literally ran into his own teammates twice. It was the kind of first half that gets a player subbed off and maybe doesn’t start the next game. Against a disciplined Japanese side that had already beaten Brazil earlier this year, it looked like the Selecao were headed for an early exit.
But Carlo Ancelotti didn’t pull him. And that decision, as much as anything else, explains why Brazil is still alive in this tournament.
Why Ancelotti stuck with Casemiro
The obvious move would have been to hook Casemiro at the break. Bring on fresh legs. Change the shape. Everyone in the stadium probably expected it.
Ancelotti saw something else. He saw a player who needed confidence, not punishment. A midfielder who had been one of the best in the world at his position for years and was having one bad half. The Italian coach kept him on and adjusted the pieces around him instead.
There was also a practical reason. Lucas Paqueta picked up an injury in first-half stoppage time and couldn’t come out for the second half. So Ancelotti brought on teenager Endrick to play higher up, dropped Bruno Guimaraes deeper alongside Casemiro, and basically told his team to push Japan back.
It worked.
Japan couldn’t hold up under pressure
Brazil came out in the second half playing with more urgency. More runners in behind. More bodies in the box. Japan, which had been comfortable with a back five and a compact shape, started sinking deeper and deeper. So deep that when Casemiro got his head on a cross in the 58th minute, three Japanese defenders were standing on the goal line next to the goalkeeper to block it.
That should have been the equalizer. Instead it was a warning shot.
Casemiro got another chance minutes later, this time from a Gabriel cross, and he didn’t miss. The guy who led all players in Europe’s top five leagues in headed goals last season finished like you’d expect. Brazil was level.
The ending was pure Brazil chaos
The winning goal came in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Ao Tanaka lost the ball on the edge of his own box. Bruno Guimaraes stepped in, kept his composure, and slid a pass to Gabriel Martinelli instead of lashing at goal. Martinelli’s shot kissed the inside of the post and went in.
Bedlam. Players sliding on their knees. Fans losing their minds. And Ancelotti, the calmest person in the building, standing on the sideline like he knew it was coming all along.
This is what Brazil hired him for. Not just the tactics, though that shift at halftime was as good as any coaching move we’ve seen in this World Cup. But the nerve. The belief in his players when the easy call was the other way.
Without Ancelotti, Brazil might already be on a plane home. With him, they’re heading to New Jersey for a Round of 16 matchup against Norway or Ivory Coast. And they’re still dangerous.
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