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Carlo Ancelotti shrugs off Neymar chants after Brazil suffer defeat to France

RE

Reuters

Published 2 months ago

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti played down fans' chants for Neymar, who ⁠was not selected for the squad, after their 2‑1 defeat to France in a warm‑up game ‌in Boston on Thursday, saying the focus should remain on the ‌players involved.

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neymar/jNOPwl3h/"]Neymar[/a] was left out after the ‌34-year-old missed a recent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/santos/n3QdnjFB/"]Santos FC[/a] match with muscle fatigue - ‌a game Ancelotti had planned to watch in ‌person as part of his assessment ahead of naming the squad.[/p][p]"Right now we have to talk about those who ‌are here, who played, who gave everything, ⁠who showed character, who ‌worked very hard. And I am satisfied," Ancelotti told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]I ​think [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raphinha/xtBsDPam/"]Raphinha[/a] played very well. He had some muscle discomfort at the end of ​the first half and we had to substitute him, but he had many opportunities and very good movement ⁠off the ball[/b].[/p][p]"[b]And ​[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Vini[/a] (Vinicius Jr.) always tries; he always makes the difference. A striker cannot always score, but the work done by both of them was good[/b]."[/p][embed guid="ea1700ff-028b-4489-a8d5-d5eef2d2bde1" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApjQmxuW5jA" social-type="youtube" /][p]Neymar, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brazil/I9l9aqLq/"]Brazil[/a]'s all-time leading ‌scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and has struggled to maintain a consistent run of matches since returning to Santos last year.[/p][p]Ancelotti has repeatedly said the forward will be considered if he is fully fit. Despite the defeat and Neymar's absence, the Italian said the ‌performance reinforced his belief in the squad's potential.[/p][p]"[b]I think ​today's game makes it very clear to me ‌that we can compete with the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that[/b]," Ancelotti said.[/p][p]Brazil will next face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/K8aznggo/"]Croatia[/a] on March 31st in Orlando ahead of the June ⁠11th to July 19th ⁠World Cup in North ‌America.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/brazil-I9l9aqLq/france-QkGeVG1n/?mid=few9ITN7"]Check out stats from the match here[/a][/b][/p]

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