Khaberni - Brazil's team coach Carlo Ancelotti urged his players to adopt greater mental flexibility after suffering a surprising 3-2 defeat to Japan in Tokyo this Tuesday, which was their first-ever loss to the Asian team.
The Italian coach emphasized the necessity to learn from the mistakes that led to the hosts' stunning comeback in the second half, while Ancelotti prepares his team for the World Cup next year in North America.
Ancelotti, who took charge last May following Brazil's inconsistent performance in the qualifiers, has focused on building a team that exhibits tactical flexibility and mental strength.
Despite the positive indicators shown by the Brazilian team in their recent matches, today's defeat highlighted weaknesses that need addressing and raised questions about the coach's decision to field a lineup that saw many changes compared to the one that achieved a resounding 5-0 victory over South Korea last Friday.
Ancelotti said at a press conference: "No, not everything is okay. When the team loses, we feel upset, and that's natural."
He continued: "I don't like losing, and neither do the players. We must learn from this defeat, as we always do in football."
He added, "Until Bruno's error in the first goal, the match was largely under our control. After that, the team collapsed mentally. And that was the biggest mistake."
He continued: "I don’t think the second half was overall bad, but the error significantly affected the players' focus."
When asked if such mistakes could affect his choices for the team lineup in the World Cup, Ancelotti dismissed that, pointing out that the focus is on the team's collective reaction.
He continued, "Individual mistakes do not affect a player's place in the lineup. What we need to evaluate is the team's reaction after the first error, which wasn't good as we lost some of our balance on the field. It's a valuable lesson for the future."
Brazil will play two friendly matches against Senegal and Tunisia next November, which will take place in England and France, respectively.
