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Brazilian winger Rodrygo set to miss World Cup with knee injury

Real Madrid said Tuesday their winger Rodrygo Goes has suffered a severe knee injury, which will keep him out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with Brazil this summer.

“Following the tests carried out today on our player Rodrygo by Real Madrid’s medical services, he has been diagnosed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and a tear of the lateral meniscus in his right leg,” said Real Madrid in a statement.

Rodrygo appeared as a substitute in Madrid’s 1-0 home La Liga defeat by Getafe on Monday, where he sustained the injury.

The 25-year-old stayed on the pitch, but tests revealed the severity of his injury on Tuesday.

Rodrygo had only just returned to action after a month out with tendonitis.

“One of the worst days of my life, how much I always feared this injury… maybe life has been a bit cruel to me lately,” Rodrygo wrote on Instagram later Tuesday.

“I don’t know if I deserve this, but what do I have to complain about? How many wonderful things have I already experienced that I also didn’t deserve?”

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The winger said his “dream” of competing at the World Cup this summer was over.

“A major obstacle has arisen in my life, in my career, one that keeps me from doing what I love most for a while,” he continued.

“I’m out for the rest of the season with my club and out of the World Cup with my country, a dream which everyone knows how much it means to me. And all that’s left is for me to be strong as always.”

Carlo Ancelotti, formerly Rodrygo’s coach at Real Madrid, will not be able to call on the forward for record five-time winners Brazil’s bid to secure a sixth World Cup trophy this summer in the United States.

Real Madrid will also miss the forward, particularly with French forward Kylian Mbappe currently sidelined because of a knee sprain.

Alvaro Arbeloa only has three fit attackers available, in Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo Garcia and Franco Mastantuono, ahead of next week’s Champions League last 16 clash against Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Brazil great Roberto Carlos hospitalized

Brazil legend Roberto Carlos has been hospitalized after a heart attack, Spanish media reported on Wednesday.

The former Real Madrid star has undergone unexpected but successful heart surgery, and is now in recovery.

The 52-year-old former left back was on vacation in Brazil when he was rushed to a hospital in Sao Paulo for what was described as a routine medical check-up.

Later on, Doctors discovered a severe underlying issue: a blood clot that had significantly reduced his heart’s pumping capacity.

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According to Marca, sources close to the 2002 World Cup winner say he is currently recovering.

Roberto Carlos himself reportedly told AS: “I’m doing well now and I’m under close observation.”

After the three-hour operation, he is expected to remain under observation in the hospital for another two days.

For the unversed, Roberto Carlos enjoyed a joyous career with 127 caps for Brazil and was a crucial figure in their 2022 World Cup triumph, held in South Korea and Japan.

At the club level, he became a global icon during his time at Real Madrid, where he played 527 competitive matches between 1996 and 2007.

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Ancelotti warns Brazil to toughen up after defeat to Japan

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said Brazil ‘mentally collapsed’ in their 3-2 friendly defeat to Japan on Tuesday and warned that they need to learn from their mistakes before the World Cup.

Brazil threw away a two-goal lead as Japan came roaring back in the second half in Tokyo, with Ancelotti’s men helpless in the face of the home side’s pressure.

A mistake in the Brazil defence for Japan’s first goal opened the floodgates, and Ancelotti said his players were not strong enough to turn it around.

“Brazil didn’t have the attitude in the second half to stop Japan’s reaction,” said the Italian.

“I am very clear about what happened, that the team mentally collapsed after the first mistake. “This was the team’s biggest mistake.”

It was Ancelotti’s second defeat since taking over in May, following a 1-0 away loss to Bolivia in World Cup qualifying.

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Brazil arrived in Tokyo fresh from a 5-0 thrashing of South Korea, and they turned on the style again in a sparkling first-half performance.

Paulo Henrique and Gabriel Martinelli both scored to put the five-time world champions comfortably ahead at the break.

Japan came roaring back after half-time with goals from Takumi Minamino, Keito Nakamura, and Ayase Ueda to give their country their first win over Brazil.

“We lost a bit of a good attitude and positive thinking,” said Ancelotti.

“The mistakes had an influence on the team.”

Ancelotti is bidding to become the first foreign-born coach to win the World Cup at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

He vowed to keep experimenting with his line-up and said individual mistakes would not cost players their places in the squad.

Ancelotti said it was “better to make these mistakes now than at the World Cup”. “We need to learn from the mistakes we made in the second half,” he said.

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Carlo Ancelotti ready to make World Cup history with Brazil

No country has ever won the World Cup with a foreign-born coach, but Carlo Ancelotti said Monday that there was “always a first time” as he eyes glory with Brazil in 2026.

The Italian became Brazil’s first overseas coach in six decades when he took over in May, and he helped the five-times champions punch their ticket for next summer’s World Cup.

Brazil face Japan in a friendly in Tokyo on Tuesday, fresh from a 5-0 hammering of South Korea in Seoul last week.

Ancelotti said he is aiming to create history for himself and his team at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“My goal is to give my best for the Brazil national team, to try to get them to perform at their best and to win the World Cup,” he said.

“Of course, no foreign-born coach has ever won the World Cup, but there is always a first time in life.”

Brazil made hard work of qualifying, finishing fifth in the South American table.

Ancelotti is their fourth coach since Tite stepped down following the quarter-final loss to Croatia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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Brazil sparkled against South Korea, with 18-year-old starlet Estevao scoring twice and Real Madrid pair Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. also among the goals.

Brazilian fans hailed the win as a return to “jogo bonito,” but Ancelotti said there was more to his team than that.

“Brazilian players have the quality to play beautiful football, but you have to think about what you mean by beautiful football,” he said.

“Brazilian players have individual quality, but that is combined with teamwork and movement off the ball, and that’s very important in football.”

Brazil travelled to Asia without forward Neymar, who was ruled out of action until at least November with a thigh injury.

Time is running out for Brazil’s record goalscorer to force his way back into the squad before the World Cup.

Ancelotti said there were no questions over Neymar’s quality.

“If Neymar is in good condition, then of course he can fit into the national team,” he said. “If Neymar is fit, then he can play in any team in the world.”

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Brazil, Ecuador book FIFA World Cup 2026 berths

Brazil booked their place at the 2026 World Cup in North America on Tuesday with a lacklustre 1-0 home victory over Paraguay, the first win of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign.

The five-time world champions, the only team to appear in every edition of the World Cup, punched their ticket to the finals in Canada, the United States of America (USA) and Mexico thanks to Vinicius Jr.

The Real Madrid star bundled home from close range in the 44th minute in Sao Paulo after a cross from new Manchester United signing Matheus Cunha.

Uruguay’s 2-0 win over Venezuela in Montevideo had raised the prospect of qualification for both Brazil and Paraguay at Corinthians Arena.

Paraguay were left needing only a point to qualify, while Brazil knew they could advance with a win in Ancelotti’s second game in charge.

In the event, it was Brazil who seized the opportunity presented by Venezuela’s loss, with Vinicius scoring the only goal just before half-time.

Brazil had struggled to create many chances up until that point, with Cunha squandering a golden chance in the 35th minute after heading wide from point-blank range.

Cunha made up for it with a key part in the goal, capitalising on good work from Raphinha to dart into the box and whip in a low cross for Vinicius, who stabbed home the finish.

The win lifted Brazil into third place in the South American standings with 25 points from 16 games, guaranteeing them a top-six finish and an automatic qualifying berth.

The defeat leaves Paraguay with 24 points, meaning they need one point to secure their first World Cup appearance since 2010.

Surprise package Ecuador joined Brazil by sealing qualification with a point following a 0-0 draw with Peru in Lima.

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In other games, Uruguay edged closer to qualification with their win over Venezuela, while Chile were eliminated with a defeat to Bolivia.

Goals from Rodrigo Aguirre and Giorgian de Arrascaeta secured all three points for Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay to leave the two-time world champions firmly on course for a place in next year’s finals.

Like Paraguay, Uruguay need only a point from their final two games to qualify.

Venezuela, who are bidding to reach the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history, are seventh with 18 points from 16 games.

Argentina, who have already qualified, meanwhile, came from behind to frustrate Colombia with a 1-1 draw in Buenos Aires.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz fired Colombia into the lead with a superb 24th-minute goal, and the Colombians were given a further boost midway through the second half when the world champions were reduced to 10 men after Enzo Fernandez’s dismissal.

But Colombia’s hopes of a vital win were dashed nine minutes from time when Thiago Almada weaved into the box and found the target to level.

The top six finishers in South America qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the seventh-placed team advancing to an intercontinental playoff.

Bolivia defeated Chile 2-0 to end the former South American champions’ hopes of qualification.

It is the third straight World Cup that Chile have missed out on.

The loss continues a dramatic fall from grace for ‘La Roja’, who won back-to-back Copa Americas in 2015 and 2016.

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Carlo Ancelotti pledges to make struggling Brazil ‘champions again’

Carlo Ancelotti, the newly appointed manager of Brazil, on Monday ruled injury-plagued Neymar out of the line-up for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers and vowed to lead the team to a sixth title.

Former Real Madrid manager Ancelotti is the first non-Brazilian in six decades to coach the record five-time World Cup winners.

“I’m very proud to lead the best team in the world. I have a big job ahead of me and have great hope that Brazil will become champions again,” he said during his official presentation at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro.

“The only goal is to win the 2026 World Cup,” he said after receiving a green-and-yellow coach’s jacket from Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager who took Brazil to its last World Cup win in 2002.

At 65, the Italian star manager, who has five Champions League titles under his belt, is taking the reins of a national team for the first time.

Expectations are high in football-mad Brazil that he can revive the squad’s fortunes.

To that end, he announced the return of Manchester United midfielder and former Brazil captain Casemiro for June’s qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay, alongside Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr and Barcelona winger Raphinha.

Carlo Ancelotti is Brazil’s fourth coach in two years, and he faces a formidable task.

“Brazil was sort of decaying and needed that little light at the end of the tunnel. I think he is that light,” said Jose Geraldo Da Silva, a 65-year-old retiree, who was waiting outside the Rio hotel to try to catch a glimpse of the new trainer.

Brazil has struggled for form in 2026 World Cup qualifying and sacked Dorival Junior in March after a humiliating 4-1 thrashing by regional arch-rivals Argentina.

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Ancelotti will cut his teeth on June 5 against Ecuador in Guayaquil and then on the 10th will host Paraguay in Sao Paulo.

While ruling out Neymar for the fixtures, Ancelotti said that “obviously we’re counting on him” for the future.

In his last game for Brazil in October 2023, which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay, Neymar suffered a serious knee injury and has not worn his country’s colours since then.

Casemiro, 33, who has also not been called up since October 2023, did receive the nod to return, by contrast.

Speaking in Spanish peppered with a few words of Portuguese, which he promised to quickly learn, Ancelotti said Casemiro would bring “charisma, personality and talent.”

New wunderkind Estevao, 18, who is set to join Chelsea from Sao Paulo’s Palmeiras, was also called up.

But injured Real Madrid forwards Rodrygo and Endrick did not make the list.

Brazil is currently languishing in fourth place in the South American qualifying table for next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The national football federation (CBF) spent two years wooing Carlo Ancelotti to try to turn the page on years of disappointment for the national side and its fans.

The Selecao have only made it as far as the World Cup semi-final once out of the last five tournaments — in 2014 against Germany, who gave the World Cup hosts a historic 7-1 thrashing on home soil.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti agrees Brazil deal: reports

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to take over the Brazil national team, several Spanish media outlets reported Monday.

The veteran Italian has one more year on his contract with the Spanish giants; however, after quarter-final Champions League elimination by Arsenal and Copa del Rey defeat by rivals Barcelona, he is poised to depart the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ancelotti has not hidden that a potential exit was on the cards and said his future was “a topic for the next weeks” after defeat by Barcelona on Saturday.

Spanish media reports that Ancelotti would take over ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June, leaving Madrid before the Club World Cup starts in the United States this summer.

Brazil sacked Dorival Junior after a 4-1 thrashing by Argentina in March and are fourth in the South American qualifying table for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.

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Carlo Ancelotti led Real Madrid to a Champions League and La Liga double last season, with Brazil stars Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes vital parts of the team, and is one of the most successful coaches in the club’s history.

In his first spell at Real Madrid, he led them to La Decima — their 10th Champions League triumph.

He has won the competition three times with Los Blancos over two stints, was sacked in 2015, but returned in 2021 after Zinedine Zidane resigned.

This season, Madrid have been defensively fragile and trail La Liga leaders Barcelona by four points, with a title defence their only remaining hope of major silverware.

Ancelotti has also coached AC Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) among other teams.

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Uruguay beat Brazil on penalties to reach Copa America semi-finals

Uruguay beat Brazil on penalties (4-2) to reach the semi-finals of Copa America after an ugly game ended goalless on Saturday.

Uruguay, who finished the game with ten men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 74th minute, will face Colombia in Charlotte, North Carolina, in their semi-final on Wednesday.

Colombia, now unbeaten in 27 games, beat Panama 5-0 in Saturday’s other quarter-final earlier in Arizona.

The other semi-final, in New Jersey on Tuesday, will see world champions Argentina face surprise package Canada.

For five-times world champions Brazil it was a disappointing early end to a tournament in which they never truly clicked, and a lot of work remains to be done if Dorival Junior’s team are to be in shape to compete for the title in the 2026 World Cup.

In a city better known for boxing than for the beautiful game, it was a bruising contest with little quality play and a tournament-high 41 fouls.

A poor quality playing field hardly helped with both teams struggling to produce their best football on an uneven surface.

The first – and best – chance of a game of few opportunities came in the 35th minute when Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez had a clear header in front of goal but mistimed his effort which flew wide off his shoulder.

Within moments, Brazil created an opening of their own with Raphinha breaking clear, but Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet stayed tall and made a vital save.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay were as tenacious as always, harrying Brazil in midfield and never afraid to interrupt their flow with a foul.

Brazil resorted too often to long balls forward but with only their 17-year-old talent Endrick, in for the suspended Vinicius Junior, as a central striker they lacked the physical presence to make that approach effective.

The game deteriorated the longer it went on with foul after foul, not deterred by lenient refereeing.

But Uruguay’s hopes of wearing Brazil down were dealt a blow when Nandez hacked down Rodrygo with a dangerous slide into his ankle and after a VAR review, the defender was sent off.

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From then on it was clear that Uruguay were simply trying to make it to full-time and penalties and with no extra-time in Copa America, they were able to achieve their aim.

After Federico Valverde scored with the first spot kick, Eder Militao saw his effort saved by the diving Rochet.

When Douglas Luiz hit the post for Brazil, they trailed 3-1 and Jose Gimenez had the chance to clinch the game for Uruguay. His effort was superbly saved by Alisson Becker.

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored to keep Brazil alive but midfielder Manuel Ugarte kept his cool to drive home the decisive kick and send the 15-times Copa champions into the last four.

Bielsa praised his team’s calmness in the shoot-out and their desire during the 90 minutes.

“I’m more seduced by attacking than defending, but I have to appreciate that in a tight game we created one more situation than our opponents, we defended well and we played 15 minutes with one less player, which at this level is a real factor,” he said.

“If you ask me if I’m happy with having created three goal situations in 90 minutes, no, I’m not. But our opponents had two,” he said.

“Today we outplayed Brazil in segments of the game and were outplayed in others,” added the Argentine.

For Brazil, the thoughts turn to the need to ensure they make it to the next World Cup after a poor start to CONMEBOL qualifying.

“We leave the tournament undefeated but not satisfied,” said Dorival Junior whose team won once and drew twice in the group stage.

“We didn’t play at a high level from a technical point of view, but I don’t dismiss any of the games. I think there was commitment, and a fighting spirit. At no time did the team stop going for the result,” he added.

“This process needs patience. We have two years to work before the World Cup. The first thing is to qualify for the World Cup because we are sixth in the (South American qualifiers) and it is a position that makes us uncomfortable,” he said.

The Copa America final will be held in Miami on July 14.

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Costa Rica hold Brazil for stalemate in Copa America

LOS ANGELES: A lacklustre Brazil launched their Copa America campaign with a dour 0-0 draw against Costa Rica on Monday at SoFi Stadium.

Brazil, chasing a 10th Copa America crown, dominated possession and territory in the Group D game but struggled to break down a resolute Costa Rica side.

The Brazilians thought they had taken the lead in the 30th minute after Marquinhos tapped in at the back post after a flick on by Rodrygo following a free-kick by Raphinha.

But after an agonising VAR delay, the goal was chalked off for a fractional offside decision as Costa Rica escaped.

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That was as good as it got for Brazil, who laboured to break down Costa Rica’s defence for the remainder of the game, registering just three shots on target despite enjoying 73.5 percent possession.

Costa Rica were content to sit back, defending in numbers and rarely venturing forward with any purpose.

The Costa Ricans failed to have a single shot on goal for the entire game.

The result means Colombia finished the day on top of Group D after collecting all three points in their deserved win over Paraguay at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

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Brazil to host FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027

The Women’s World Cup will take place in South America for the first time after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 edition at a FIFA congress on Friday.

After the success of Australia and New Zealand in 2023, which earned a record $570 million in commercial revenue, FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women’s football to new continents.

Delegates meeting in Bangkok voted 119 votes to 78 to send the 10th Women’s World Cup to the land of samba football, which beat a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The decision sparked jubilant celebrations from the Brazilian bid team.

Brazil, home of women’s football great Marta, scored higher than its European rival in FIFA’s evaluation report.

The FIFA inspectors noted the “tremendous impact on women’s football in the region” that South America hosting the Women’s World Cup would have.

Brazil’s bid includes 10 stadiums used for the men’s World Cup in 2014, with Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana lined up for the opening match and final.

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But work needs to be done, in particular to the Amazonia stadium in Manaus which has stood almost unused for a decade.

The Brazilian Football Confederation has also been in turmoil with legal challenges to its president.

Unlike their male counterparts, who have won five World Cups, Brazil’s women have never lifted the trophy and made a group-stage exit in 2023.

Last year’s tournament defied fears that increasing the size from 24 to 32 teams would dilute the spectacle, with over 1.4 million fans streaming through the turnstiles to witness a host of shocks, dramatic turnarounds and breakthrough results.

Gone were the lopsided scorelines that were a feature of the previous eight World Cups, reflecting a growth in the standard of women’s football.

Seven teams notched their first World Cup wins and the United States and Germany, who between them had won six of the previous eight tournaments, were both dumped out early.

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