The setting sun was devoting the last of its fading light to the downtown skyline and the game was only a few minutes old when the ranks of Brazil supporters at one end of Lincoln Financial Field passed a tifo above their heads.
It proclaimed their team as Pentacampeao, or five-time champions, and picked out one player to lionise from each of those triumphs. A picture of Dida represented 1958, Garrincha was for 1962, Pele for 1970, Romario for 1994 and Ronaldo for 1998.
It is always there for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, that history and that expectation and that desperate desire to emulate the heroes of the past. On the streets of Philadelphia, in the hours leading up to the game, most of the Brazil fans who thronged the city centre wore shirts that bore the names of Ronaldo or Ronaldinho on the back.
The current stars of this Brazil side still labour in the shadows of their forebears. In the minutes after Brazil had cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Haiti, Vinicius Jr was asked what it would mean to him to win the World Cup. ‘I hope to keep playing at this level,’ Vinicius said, ‘keep evolving and bring Brazil back to where it should never have left.’
Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the last two editions of the World Cup and on the basis of their first two games in this tournament – a 1-1 draw with Morocco and the victory over Haiti – the last eight looks as if it might be the limit of their capabilities again.
Brazil are a modest side that labour in the shadows of their past World Cup glories (Pictured: Rivaldo, left, and Ronaldo, centre, kiss the trophy after winning the 2002 tournament)
Vinicius Jnr wants to resurrect Brazil to where it ‘should never have left’ at the 2026 World Cup
The icons of the past are still idolised by Selecao supporters, far more than the current crop
They played well enough in the first half against Haiti but then Haiti is a poorer team than Morocco and this defeat condemned them to the unwanted distinction of becoming the first team knocked out of this World Cup. Even in that context, Brazil did not manage a single shot on target in the second half. Haiti had seven shots to Brazil’s two after the interval.
Yes, there were signs of progress. Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha, promoted to the starting line-up ahead of Brentford’s Igor Thiago, lit up the first half playing as a false nine and scored two goals, the second of which was a spectacular rising drive that flew into the roof of the net. Vini Jr wrapped up the scoring with a clinical finish after a clever ball from Lucas Paqueta.
But the longer the game wore on, the more pedestrian Brazil looked. They had to rely on a series of fine saves from Alisson to keep Haiti at bay and if the introduction of teenager Endrick late in the game brought excited approval from their fans, it brought only a marginal improvement in their play.
Neymar is Brazil’s record goalscorer but he has not played for the national team for three years and has been restricted to the sidelines here as he tries to recover from a calf injury. He did not even travel to Philadelphia for the victory over Haiti.
‘Ney is a very important player for us,’ Vini Jr said after the match. ‘Yeah, we hope he can play the next game. We are happy with his recovery. Him being with the squad is something very important for us; he is my idol, someone who has always given me a lot of support. We hope he can come back next game and help us throughout the World Cup.’
Neymar is Brazil’s record goalscorer but he has not played for the national team for three years
Neymar is 34 now and the years when he illuminated the sport with his genius are just a memory. He was, for a short time for Brazil and for Barcelona, one of the world’s best players but his career has been ravaged by injury and indiscipline since then. If he can turn Brazil into a team to rank with some of the great ones of the past, it would be one hell of a resurrection story.
It is more likely that Brazil will struggle to become legitimate candidates to win the tournament. This is not a team that possesses a talent on the level of Ronaldo, Rivaldo or Ronaldinho. They are in a fight to win the group with Morocco, who play Haiti in their final game. If they do finish at the head of Group C, it would put them on a potential collision course with England in the quarter-finals.
