"In these three games, we've gone backwards in relation to where we were during the World Cup," former Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo said on Brazilian television.
That's resounding criticism for manager Carlo Ancelotti given the context: Before this international break, the last time we saw Brazil was at the 2026 World Cup in July, when they were knocked out by Norway in the round of 16 -- their earliest exit from the tournament since 1990.
Melo isn't wrong, either. Last week, Brazil needed 20-year-old attacker Rayan to head home a last-gasp equalizer against Australia, rescuing a disappointing 1-1 draw. Brazil followed that result with a 4-2 win in a second meeting against Australia before enjoying a 4-0 victory over India on Saturday.
Back home, few fans are impressed, and five-time UEFA Champions League-winning coach Ancelotti is already widely being seen as a massive disappointment. So far, the veteran Italian responded by raising an eyebrow and saying he was satisfied with the chance to observe some new players.
For now, Brazil's upcoming schedule is all friendlies, and Ancelotti aims to have a settled team in place by the time their new cycle of competitive matches begins. That means he has to answer a fundamental question about the shape of his side.
A firm pragmatist, Ancelotti's success has been based on the capacity to extract the best from the resources at his disposal. In Brazil's case, that means getting the most out of the wingers. The country has more wide forwards than it can use. The dilemma: How can Ancelotti field a winger on both flanks and still get the balance right in midfield?
After the World Cup, he identified central midfield as Brazil's weakest area. He was happy with options in defense and up front, but pointed out that Brazil lacked the midfielders able to control games in the manner, for example, that comes so naturally to Spain.
For this reason, even in the first hour when his team was in the ascendancy against Norway, the opposition had more possession, and Brazil were at their best with quick, direct attacks. In this new cycle, Ancelotti said, priority would be given to developing new central midfielders.
It was a surprise, then, in the first game against Australia, that Ancelotti went back to the plan of using a front four, with just two players in the center of the pitch. Plans to use this as the base system in the World Cup were abandoned after a poor first half in a warmup game against Panama, after which he included a third midfielder. But against Australia, Bruno Guimarães and Danilo Santos were on their own.
What might have motivated the change? The probability is that Ancelotti was attempting to recreate the best period of his short reign, the time a year ago when, playing with a front four, his team won 5-0 away to South Korea and came up with a highly creditable 2-0 win over Senegal in London.
Across the front line were Estevão, Matheus Cunha, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior. Come the World Cup, of course, Estevão and Rodrygo had been forced out by injury. But with the Chelsea winger now fit again, Ancelotti could not resist the temptation to turn back the clock and see if he could make the team function in a 4-2-4 formation.
It was a clear failure. The opening match against Australia was the worst of the three that Brazil played in this extended international window. The team was too open, there was no fluidity, and a morale-crushing defeat was imminent when, from the last action of the game, Rayan headed home from a corner.
It was back to 4-3-3 for the second match in Brisbane, with 21-year-old midfielder Gabriel Bontempo making the extra man in midfield. The performance improved, especially after the hour, when midfielder Andrey Santos was introduced. Up until this point, Guimarães was nominally the holding midfielder, with Bontempo to the right and Danilo to the left -- a waste of Guimarães' lung power.
But after Andrey came on to hold the fort, the structure of the team worked better. At last they were able to get the ball to Vinícius, and he helped set up the goal that put Brazil 3-2 ahead and effectively won the game -- turned in at close range by the rampaging Guimarães.
This then became the formation used against India, although with Guimarães rested in the first half and Bontempo not as impressive as on debut, the ball was moved too slowly, and there was a lack of collective zip about Brazil's play. Interestingly, they ended the game without a specialist winger on the field.
Estevão, whose goal and assist in the first half paved the way to victory, gave way to 21-year-old midfielder Breno Bidon. Vinícius was withdrawn at halftime, replaced by 21-year-old Samuel Lino, who is much more of a wide midfielder able to work on the inside than an out-and-out winger. It was Lino who scored both the second-half goals, one with the last kick of the game, to seal the win.
It is hard, though, to imagine Lino getting into the starting lineup ahead of Vinícius, and tough, too, to think of Brazil spending much time playing an orthodox, winger-less 4-4-2. But it is another option that Ancelotti has examined.
The most interesting option is the next one. Next month in Singapore, Brazil will take on Japan in a match that has become an interesting rivalry. In the 2026 World Cup, Brazil came from behind to eliminate Japan in the round of 32 with almost the last kick of the game. A year ago in a friendly, Brazil opened up a two-goal lead only to lose 3-2 when their second-string defense collapsed against one of Japan's characteristic surges.
The match next month may well be only a friendly. But in the light of the World Cup disappointment, and with these last three displays being judged harshly at home, a good performance against Japan would seem to be important for Ancelotti's job security.