Brazil’s identity crisis deepens after shocking World Cup exit to Norway
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In the end, after Norway rushed the center of the pitch in celebration, Vinícius Júnior could only watch.
He sat on the grass with his hands behind him to support his weight. Norway’s players flung spare balls up in the air and twirled their jerseys above. Vinícius then leaned back. He lay on the field and stared straight up at the sky.
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If there’s one thing Brazil can pinpoint for this letdown, it’s the many chances it did not cash in.
The Seleção, for the fifth consecutive World Cup, have been knocked out by a European country. In a match Sunday, July 5 that Brazil was a heavy favorite to win, Norway played with more urgency and poise in the second half to upset the five-time world champions, 2-1, behind a pair of Erling Haaland goals.
Although Brazil dominated possession during the initial stretches of the first half, Norway was — frankly — the better side, and it wasn’t particularly close.
As the game progressed, Brazil played as if it expected a goal to come. The Seleção deferred. They let Norway dictate the terms and pace of the game, seemingly fearing the Landslaget ability to counter.
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That caution and respect was self-destructive; rather than pumping the ball ahead to forwards Vinícius, Matheus Cunha, Gabriel Martinelli and, eventually once he was subbed in on the 67th minute, Neymar, Brazil relegated its attackers, asking them to wait for their own counterattacks.
Despite Brazil’s more passive approach to offense, the side nonetheless did generate some real opportunities. And while Norway keeper Ørjan Nyland recorded a tremendous performance Sunday evening, no wasted chance was bigger than the match’s first, in the 14th minute.
Brazil won a penalty kick after a Norway defender tackled Cunha in the box. Initially, it appeared that Vinícius would be the one to take the shot. While the VAR was taking place, he stood over the ball at the spot. Eventually, Vinícius would hand the ball to midfielder Bruno Guimarães.
It was a peculiar choice. Guimarães, making his 48th cap for Brazil, had never attempted a penalty for the national team and is just 3-of-3 in his club career.
Brazil’s Vinicius Junior lays dejected after the match against Norway at the World Cup round of 16 in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 5, 2026.
Granted, Vinícius Júnior’s track record in penalty kicks has been inconsistent, but this was a case where an early goal would have very clearly set a tone.
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It’s a decision that will be debated in the country for years to come. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the match that Brazil ran numbers of its players and found that, of all the players on the pitch, Guimarães was best suited to take the penalty.
“We picked Bruno Guimarães because we thought he was the best on the pitch,” Ancelotti said.
Later, in the mixed zone, Ancelotti said that decision had been made before the match.
“I think I had been having a very good World Cup,” Guimarães said in Portuguese in the mixed zone. “I was unlucky with the penalty. I had studied their keeper closely and thought that was the best corner to aim for. Unfortunately, he saved it. But there is a general sense of sadness; everyone is very upset.
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“I want to apologize to the fans, who always believed and supported us until the very end. It’s a day where it’s hard to even find the words.”
The missed penalty alone is not why Brazil lost. The side lacked the creativity and inventive play it has embodied over its history.
Against Japan in the round of 32, sensing that its attack was struggling to generate real chances, Brazil adjusted its formula and strafed cross after cross into the penalty area. In the end, Brazil lofted 40 crosses in that match, which was third most in its history since stat tracking began.
Against Norway, Brazil attempted just 13 crosses.
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Brazil had dominated possession early in the first half. By the time the match ended, Norway had flipped that script and claimed a 60-32 edge in the stat.
So, as Brazil now faces questions about its future and its identity, the country must reckon with the tactics Ancelotti chose to emphasize: defense, pragmatism and the hope that counterattacks would carry the day.
Things may get a little murky. After the match, Neymar hinted at his international retirement. Casemiro, another mainstay, might follow suit. And while Brazil will need its younger players to step into new roles, the biggest question looming concerns identity: namely, what kind of team does Brazil want to be?
“When a moment like this happens, you have to think that a loss is the start of a new adventure or a new season,” Ancelotti said. “We have to keep working, keep getting better, find new ideas. I don’t think this is the end, but the start of a new cycle, this loss.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brazil’s identity crisis deepens after shocking World Cup exit to Norway