Until this year, Brazil's national football team had never lost three games in a row. The Selecao had never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home. It had never had anything but wins against a visiting Venezuela team, for many years the weakest in South America.
Interim coach Fernando Diniz, however, has had to endure all those setbacks in only a few months on the job — all while Brazil hopes that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will soon take over.
Diniz's troubles, and the lack of a confirmed answer from Ancelotti, have increased the pressure on the Brazilian team, even though qualifying for the expanded 2026 World Cup is still expected despite a 1-0 loss to Argentina on Tuesday.