Gilberto Silva, the former Arsenal captain who lifted the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, has expressed his doubts about the current Selecao's chances of winning a sixth title this summer. Despite the appointment of legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, Silva believes Brazil are far from their glory days and are not among the main favorites for the tournament.
Brazil's World Cup prospects under Ancelotti
Silva, who will serve on FIFA's Technical Study Group during the World Cup, acknowledged the immense pressure on the Brazilian squad. The team has not progressed beyond the quarterfinals in the last two tournaments, and realistic expectations are lower than usual. Ancelotti, an Italian, has been brought in to inspire a turnaround, and Silva jokingly referred to him as an adopted Brazilian for the next couple of months.
“With all due respect to Carlo, I would love to see a Brazilian in charge of the Brazil national team at the World Cup this summer. But I don’t see an Italian now. I see a Brazilian and we must give our full support to the team, to the players and the coach for this World Cup,” Silva said.
“I don’t think Brazil are one of the main favourites but Carlo is building a squad and will be in charge of a strong team by the time the World Cup starts. The pressure is massive and the pressure will be there on Brazil for the whole tournament and for every single game. It’s a really tough time for the national side but you really have to put the trust in what they are doing and how they will approach the tournament. You have to focus on the positive and a big part of that is Carlo because he has such great experience and quality as a coach.”
Ancelotti's squad decisions and Gabriel's role
Ancelotti has already made headlines by calling up Neymar while omitting Chelsea's Joao Pedro. Brazil's World Cup campaign begins on June 13 against Morocco, with further group matches against Haiti and Scotland. Silva, a regular attendee at Arsenal games as a guest and pundit, praised the Gunners' title-winning season and highlighted the importance of Brazil centre-back Gabriel.
Gabriel has formed a formidable partnership with William Saliba at Arsenal, and Silva believes he can be equally crucial for Brazil. “It is fantastic to see them do so well this season under Mikel Arteta and I am sure there is more to come. I think there will be set-pieces at the tournament and you have seen Arsenal be very effective with that in the Premier League. Gabriel has been a big part of that in defence and attack. Arsenal have two great centre backs and one is Brazilian so we are very lucky.”
Set-piece trends and World Cup expectations
Silva, who has studied tactics and trends for FIFA, does not anticipate as many set-piece goals in the World Cup as in the Premier League. FIFA has introduced new laws and VAR interventions to reduce grappling at set-pieces, but Silva expects a natural shift. “Of course it is going to be a challenge and games will be tight and decided by small margins. But I don’t think set-pieces will be the main thing this summer. There will be other ways in which teams can break through and score goals and hopefully you will see an exciting and brilliant World Cup.”
