Can the beautiful game survive in World Cup?

When Charles Miller stepped off a ship carrying two footballs at the Port of Santos in 1894, not even in his wildest dreams could the Scotsman have imagined the revolution he would spark in a vast country — then considered «remote» — on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

That is how football was born in Brazil. The nation embraced the sport not merely as a game but as a way of life, ultimately winning a record five FIFA World Cup titles.

Today, however, those glory days have faded into the past. Brazilian football is grappling with an identity crisis that began long before the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) decided to pursue Carlo Ancelotti. The renowned Italian coach’s arrival at the helm underscored just how desperate the five-time world champions had become — and the lengths they were willing to go — to reclaim their former glory.

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From Pelé’s debut at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden onward, Brazil’s title-winning campaigns were built on a distinctive style: the immense individual skill of its stars harnessed to a collective approach that prioritized creativity and attacking football. Following their second triumph in Chile in 1962 — achieved with Pelé sidelined by injury but driven by the indomitable Garrincha — that style reached its zenith with the magnificent squad that secured the nation’s third World Cup title at Mexico City’s Azteca StBadium in 1970, once again led by the brilliance of Pelé and a constellation of stars.

Although Brazilian football continued to be regarded as a model for others to emulate, its last two World Cup victories — USA 1994 and Korea/Japan 2002 — were not achieved through the celebrated jogo bonito («beautiful game») that had defined those earlier triumphs. The campaign that ended Brazil’s 24-year title drought at the 1994 World Cup in the United States culminated in the only scoreless final in tournament history before a penalty shootout victory over Italy in Los Angeles. It was led by head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. The first World Cup held in Asia, in 2002, was won under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Both coaches were known in Brazil more for their pragmatic, defense-first approach than for producing aesthetically pleasing football.

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Supporters may argue that both teams featured extraordinary talent — the 1994 side boasted Romário and Bebeto in attack, while the 2002 squad included Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and others — but the tactical concepts and strategies employed by Parreira and Scolari represented a clear departure from Brazil’s traditional identity. That approach was neither better nor worse; it was simply different.

Since then, Brazilian football has lacked a clearly defined identity at the highest level. That period may have served as the first warning that the automatic association between Brazil and beautiful football no longer reflected reality.

The harshest blow came in 2014.

Hosting the World Cup, Brazil hoped to exorcise the ghosts of the infamous «Maracanazo» — the 2–1 defeat to Uruguay in the decisive match of the 1950 World Cup at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, Germany showed no mercy in the semifinal, dismantling the hosts 7–1 in what remains the most humiliating defeat in Brazil’s football history before going on to lift the trophy against Argentina at the same stadium.

«In Brazil, where football is the greatest symbol of national identity, World Cup results deeply affect the nation’s aspirations and self-esteem,» British journalist and author Alex Bellos wrote following the shocking defeat in Belo Horizonte.

«No one expected the World Cup to give rise to a new national tragedy — one that, in strictly sporting terms, constitutes the greatest humiliation in the country’s history. In fact, 1950 and 2014 can be seen as the dramatic bookends to the rise and fall of the jogo bonito.»

Bellos served as The Guardian’s correspondent in Brazil and is the author of the acclaimed 2002 book «Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life.»

From that point on, Brazilian football gradually drifted away from the sport’s elite. Poor performances during South American qualifying for the current World Cup prompted the CBF to pursue a dramatic change in direction, hiring a foreign coach to lead the national team for the first time in its history.

Ancelotti’s credentials are beyond dispute. He has won the UEFA Champions League five times — a record for a manager — and is the only coach to have reached six Champions League finals. He is also the only manager to have won league titles in Europe’s five major leagues: Italy, Spain, England, Germany, and France. In addition, he has won the FIFA Club World Cup three times and the UEFA Super Cup five times, another managerial record.

The question, however, is whether his philosophy fits the rich tradition of Brazilian football — or whether the Canarinha itself can adapt to his more pragmatic approach. Will his tactical discipline add a new dimension to Brazil’s historic jogo bonito, or will it suppress the creative freedom that has long defined the nation’s footballing identity?

During the press conference following last week’s emphatic victory over Scotland in Miami — the team’s third match, which secured top spot in Group C with seven points — a Brazilian journalist asked Ancelotti in Portuguese whether he was pleased that the team was already displaying his signature style of play.

«Right now, we’re playing as a team, and that’s the goal. We aren’t playing perfectly, and there are areas where we need to improve—particularly when we’re in possession, controlling the game, and increasing the tempo,» Ancelotti replied in Spanish.

«I’m happy because the team has improved significantly since the first match. We’re solid now, and that’s crucial. When the knockout stage arrives, solidity becomes essential.»

In Spain—where «Carletto» cemented his reputation during two successful spells with Real Madrid — the knockout rounds are commonly referred to as the mata-mata (literally, «kill or be killed»).

This World Cup features a Round of 32 for the first time in tournament history. Brazil will face Japan on Monday in Houston after finishing first in Group C with seven points. Japan advanced as runners-up in Group E with five points, two behind group winners the Netherlands, with whom they drew 2–2.

Brazil’s World Cup campaign began under the same cloud of uncertainty that had followed the team throughout South American qualifying. The Seleção opened with a scoreless draw against a disciplined Moroccan side that, for long stretches, controlled possession and pinned Brazil deep inside its own half.

The following matches, however, brought reassurance. Comfortable 3–0 victories over Haiti and Scotland restored confidence and suggested that Ancelotti’s ideas were beginning to take hold.

«Compared to the first match, I think we’re playing much more solidly now,» Ancelotti said. «We’re more comfortable on the ball, playing with better rhythm, and we’re more efficient in attack. We made a good impression, but we still have to keep improving.»

Back in Brazil, optimism has begun to replace skepticism. Supporters once fiercely opposed to the idea of a foreign manager now appear fully behind Ancelotti’s appointment. Many even celebrated when television cameras captured him singing the Brazilian national anthem before the victory over Scotland.

«I already know the Italian anthem, and now I’m learning the Brazilian one,» Ancelotti said with a smile. «It’s difficult, but I was reading the lyrics. I enjoy singing, and during this period I’m proudly part of this country. I enjoyed singing the anthem.»

The scene would have been almost unimaginable only a year ago. For decades, appointing a foreign coach to lead the Brazilian national team was considered almost sacrilegious. Today, however, many supporters appear willing to set tradition aside if it means restoring Brazil to the summit of world football.

Despite no longer playing the jogo bonito of the past, Brazil still possesses the flair that has long defined its greatest stars. This time, however, with Neymar now a veteran — short of match fitness and well removed from his peak — the responsibility has fallen, as expected, to Vinícius Júnior.

The Real Madrid forward is well known to Ancelotti, who coached him for several seasons at the Spanish giants.

«He is in excellent condition,» Ancelotti said. «The team also allows him to rest when we’re out of possession, which keeps him fresher for the moments when he needs to attack through the middle rather than stay wide.»

Vinícius has been directly involved in six of Brazil’s seven goals so far in the tournament, once again demonstrating why he is widely regarded as the face of the national team’s new generation.

On paper, Brazil enters Monday’s match as the clear favorite. History, pedigree, the quality of its players competing in Europe’s top leagues, and its experience on football’s biggest stage all point toward a place in the Round of 16.

Yet Japan has already shown it is capable of springing surprises.

The teams most recently met in a friendly in Tokyo in October 2025 during Ancelotti’s tenure, and Japan earned a deserved 3–2 victory. Brazil was missing several key players that day, but the result nevertheless highlighted the discipline and tactical organization of a Japanese side that also defeated England in another friendly at Wembley Stadium.

If Brazil has one area of concern, it remains the midfield.

The opening match against Morocco exposed a lack of creativity and control in the center of the pitch. The African side dictated long stretches of the game thanks largely to the outstanding performance of Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18-year-old Lille midfielder whose emergence has been one of the revelations of this World Cup.

Bouaddi — eligible to represent both France and Morocco — controlled the tempo with remarkable maturity, overshadowing the veteran Casemiro and making one of Brazil’s most accomplished midfielders appear unusually vulnerable.

That lack of depth in midfield is hardly a new concern.

During a visit to Texas two years ago for a friendly against Mexico, Emerson — one of Brazil’s finest midfielders of the modern era — told me he was increasingly worried about the team’s inability to develop a long-term successor to Casemiro ahead of the 2024 Copa América.

«Brazil hasn’t been able to find a reliable replacement for Casemiro,» Emerson said. «He’s getting older and is no longer playing at the same level he reached at Real Madrid.»

At the time, Casemiro was enduring an inconsistent spell at Manchester United, where injuries and fluctuating form had complicated his adaptation to the Premier League.

Those concerns remain relevant today.

For decades, Brazil’s greatest teams combined extraordinary attacking talent with world-class balance in midfield. From Clodoaldo and Gérson to Falcão, Cerezo, Dunga, Mauro Silva, Gilberto Silva, and Casemiro, the engine room has often been the foundation upon which the team’s artistry flourished.

If Brazil hopes to lift a sixth World Cup trophy, rediscovering that balance may prove just as important as the brilliance of Vinícius or the tactical expertise of Ancelotti.

Ultimately, Brazil’s identity crisis extends beyond the appointment of a foreign coach or the abandonment of the jogo bonito that once captivated the world. It is about finding a modern identity — one capable of blending tactical sophistication with the creativity, flair, and joy that made Brazilian football unique.

The answer may not lie in recreating the past. Football has evolved, and Brazil has evolved with it.

The real challenge is ensuring that, in adapting to the modern game, the country does not lose the essence that made it the game’s most admired footballing nation.