The big stars have turned up for the 2026 World Cup. Lamine Yamal returned to the Spain team to help them thump Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi is the tournament’s top scorer, giving Argentina hope of pinning “la cuarta estrella” to their shirts. And Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo are all vying for the Golden Boot as their teams look towards to the next stage.

However, the five-time champions Brazil are failing to convince. They finished fifth in the Conmebol qualifying table with 28 points from 18 games, their worst ever qualifying campaign. Being competitive in a 2-1 defeat to France in March, before wins against Croatia, Panama and Egypt in friendlies, perhaps gave false hope.

Brazil were lucky to get away with a 1-1 draw against Morocco in their opening game after going behind early and being outclassed for most of the match. Only Vinícius Júnior saved them with a moment of individual brilliance.

Anything less than a goleada (one-sided, high-scoring thrashing) against Haiti would have been deemed a failure. That was the message from back home. Casemiro snippily replied with a sarcastic grimace and look away while bleating “3-0?”, when asked if his team had convinced in their second game. Beating a country that has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years is not going to win over everyone.

Brazil were not particularly impressive in the goalless second half, doing little to quell the feelings of “apprehension and distrust” that Mauro Cezar Pereira – one of the country’s biggest pundits – has picked up on in Brazil. “Those who understand even the basics of football don’t have much faith,” he says, adding that Carlo Ancelotti’s work is “far below what it should be”.

Paulo Vinícius Coelho, another heavyweight of Brazilian punditry known as PVC, says Brazilians “feel like we’re seeing a team that isn’t showing much sign of having a great World Cup – and that to do so they will have to improve during the tournament”.

Most of the big names have stepped up at this World Cup and, with two goals and an assist so far, Vini Jr could be thrown into the group of 2026 elites. But he is by no means the Brazil squad’s greatest star in terms of reputation. That billing goes to the national team’s all-time highest scorer, Neymar, who is in the squad but yet to play a single minute of what is expected to be his final World Cup.

The drama around whether the 34-year-old would be called up or not was worthy of a Globo novela. It would certainly be more interesting than Convocadas – the reality show about the players and their partners that Globo showed in the buildup to the tournament.

Neymar’s saga was rife with plot twists and conspiracy theories. The idea that Santos and Neymar staged a supposed officiating blunder, where his number was held up for him to be substituted because he didn’t have the means to carry on playing in a league match, fell into the latter category. So does the story that Ancelotti did not want to call him up but ultimately buckled to prevent a potential backlash for not doing so.

In any event, he is going. The TV pundit Neto – who has criticised Neymar for visiting more barbecue restaurants than he has starred in games – says Neymar lacks focus and fitness. “Do you see Messi injured with a calf strain, like Neymar is?,” Neto posed on a broadcast of his Os Donos da Bola programme. “No! Can you think of a muscle injury, an ankle sprain from Messi, a knee sprain, prostate problems? When did Messi go 10 days without training or miss five games in a row? Neymar, that’s all I want from you. Just that. He’s 39 years old, you’re 34. And what does Neymar do? A gender reveal party.”

Pereira, a known critic of the forward, takes a similar line. “Neymar shouldn’t even be in the national team,” he says. “He hasn’t played for 36 days after going 30 without touching a ball. He didn’t stand out for Santos against Recoleta of Paraguay, how will he stand out in the World Cup?”

Despite his lack of action on the pitch, Neymar still dominates debate in Brazil. O Globo reports that the plan is for Neymar to have a few minutes against Scotland, but only if Brazil are in a “favourable” situation. Given his injury layoff, there are concerns about putting him in to “solve” the match “because he does not have the physical conditions and rhythm to reach his maximum” level. The idea is to play him as a false nine, “so as not to have so many marking assignments”.

In the buildup to the Scotland game, a training ground clip has circulated. It shows Neymar going in fast and taking the ball from his Danilo, with Casemiro applauding his efforts in a general jokey vibe. “You’re really going for it, huh,” comes one comment and Neymar replies: “Don’t get used to it, eh!”

Asked about how many minutes Neymar can play against Scotland, Ancelotti responded: “I can play 90 minutes walking. Neymar’s well, he can play, I’m very happy with him.” Following his missed header and poor performance against Morocco, Igor Thiago is unlikely to reclaim his place as the central target man, especially after Matheus Cunha scored twice against Haiti.

Cunha can play up top or as a No 10 who drops deep so the two wingers can play as strikers. Ancelotti used this system to great effect in the 2023-24 season, with Vini Jr and Rodrygo providing the width and helping Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League. Rodrygo is missing the entire tournament and Raphinha picked up a hamstring injury against Haiti, so some tinkering is required to the attack. Plenty of fans back home would like to see Endrick given a chance but Ancelotti seems unconvinced by the teenager.

The defence improved against Haiti, keeping a clean sheet, but Casemiro and his fellow midfielders have been criticised for a perceived lack of mobility. He may have won the Champions League five times for Real Madrid and performed well for Manchester United this season, but that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans for Brazil fans who want to see the old warhorse “run more”.

Maybe catching wind of this, Casemiro was the player who ran the most against Haiti after being the slowest in the Morocco draw. Mauro Cezar noted improvements in the middle of the park. “Initially, the coach intended to set up the team in a 4-2-4 formation. Now it’s a 4-3-3. In any case, the midfield improved in the second game, with adjustments in the positioning of the players in that area.

“There was a good performance from Lucas Paquetá, as well as constant support and intense participation from Matheus Cunha, who should never have been taken out of the team to make way for Igor Thiago, as happened in the opening match.”

Moving forward, PVC thinks there is a solution. “The team has improved a little with Paquetá, but Danilo, who’s on the bench, would bring versatility to the midfield.” That said, he is not entirely positive. “The fact is that Brazil have wasted four years of work,” adds PVC. “The team isn’t ready. The team has good players, but it doesn’t have a cohesive unit”.

Expectations back home are low. Brazil could face Japan or the Netherlands in the next round, then possibly Germany or France in the last-16 depending on results. A quarter-final showdown with England can’t be ruled out either.

“They might not even make it to the last 16; they’ll have to improve a lot to advance,” suggests Pereira. PVC is more positive, though cautious. “Brazil can improve during the competition and try to reach the semi-finals. This could happen if the matchups are easier – for example, if Sweden beat Japan. If Brazil and the Netherlands face each other, Brazil could be eliminated in the first knockout round. This could happen, for example, if they lose to Scotland,” he warns.

In any event, such failure will not cost Ancelotti his job. He gets a “full cycle” until after the 2030 World Cup as per his contract, and therefore a full four years to prepare, including the 2028 Copa América. The honeymoon period is over, though, and he’s already feeling the heat.

This is an article by Tom Sanderson