Australia take on Brazil in Brisbane friendly
As we reported yesterday, Brazil scrapped the planned open training session they were supposed to hold at Suncorp Stadium, much to the disappointment of those who have travelled from interstate for this match – most of whom will be returning home on Wednesday, which means they’ll miss the rescheduled public appearance on Thursday morning.
The plans changed at Ancelotti’s behest, because of the immense pressure the team is feeling after Friday night’s 1-1 draw in Townsville. Nor did Brazil do a formal pre-match press conference.
Instead, at a function on Monday night in Brisbane’s West End, Ancelotti was part of a panel discussion with Socceroos boss Tony Popovic, and answered some questions from the Brazilian media, who have been smashing him.
It got pretty willing, as he was at pains to explain the “step by step” process that must be undertaken to rebuild their national team, which has only once progressed past the quarter-finals of a World Cup since the last time they won it in 2002 – and that was in 2014, when they hosted the tournament, and suffered an infamous 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany, which plunged the entire nation into crisis.
