For 47% of Brazilians, players are more to blame than Ancelotti for the team's elimination

Athletes were named by 47% of those interviewed as the main responsible for the elimination. The technical committee was mentioned as the main culprit by 22%, and another 18% pointed the finger at the big hats.

The survey was carried out on the 22nd and 23rd of July. 2,004 people aged 16 or over were interviewed in 139 municipalities in the five regions of Brazil. The margin of error is two percentage points, plus or minus, within the 95% confidence level.

The research demonstrated, as was not difficult to predict, disappointment with Brazil's participation in the World Cup. The team fell into the round of 16 for the first time since 1990, and this time against an opponent with little tradition in football, Norway.

The campaign was considered well below expectations by 36% and slightly below by 24%. There were 5% who indicated a result slightly higher than expected and 3% who responded "much higher" - these, apparently, expected almost nothing.

There were reasons for pessimism, indeed. The team had a bumpy road to the World Cup, with a forced change in command of the CBF. President Ednaldo Rodrigues left, judicially removed, and the then unknown Samir Xaud entered, anointed by the powerful group linked to STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Gilmar Mendes.

Xaud was elected on Sunday, May 25, 2025, without opponents, and presented the next day with new coach Ancelotti, who had agreed his contract with Ednaldo. He was a foreigner, still without in-depth knowledge of Brazilian football, with a year to look for a turnaround until the World Cup. It didn't.

Before him, since the 2022 edition of the tournament, the interim Ramon Menezes, the initially interim Fernando Diniz and the short-lived Dorival Júnior had been in charge of the team. All with terrible results.

The scenario may help explain why Carletto's work was considered bad or terrible by only 32% of those interviewed, even with early elimination. The number is lower than that of Tite post-2022 (38%) and post-2018 (37%). In 2014, after the 7-1 catastrophe, Luiz Felipe Scolari recorded 49%. In 2010, after falling in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, Dunga had 36%.

The evaluation of Ancelotti's work, it is true, worsened after the World Cup. From the April survey to date, it was 12% to 32% bad/very bad. Excellent/good fell from 28% to 22%.

Still, there is no general view that work should be stopped. The Italian reached the 2026 World Cup with a renewed contract until 2030, and 51% agree with that. 37% are against his stay.

"What we're going to do is keep working, try to improve and look for new ideas. The same as we did this year. I think the work was good. Football is like that. Sometimes you have to manage the sadness of a defeat. I'm used to that. We're going to manage this defeat with a new impetus to work", said the coach after the fall in East Rutherford.

He met with his committee and CBF directors, in Rio de Janeiro, this week, and confirmed that the Neymar era is over, promising a significant renewal. Now, he has four years to improve his rating and also the number that matters most to fans, that of stars in the yellow jersey.