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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Tom Sanderson

‘Not much faith’: the view from Brazil as they prepare to face Scotland

Brazil Carlo Ancelotti Scotland World Cup Endrick Lionel Messi Matheus Cunha Danilo Igor Thiago Lucas Paquetà
Neymar looks on from the bench before the 2026 World Cup match between Brazil and Haiti
Neymar has not played a minute at the World Cup but he dominates discussion in Brazil. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

The big stars have turned up for the 2026 World Cup. Lamine Yamal returned to the Spain team to help them to thump Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi is the tournament’s top scorer, giving Argentina hope of pinning “la cuarta estrella” to their shirts. And Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo are all vying for the Golden Boot as their teams look towards to the next stage.

However, the five-time champions Brazil are failing to convince. They finished fifth in the Conmebol qualifying table with 28 points from 18 games, their worst qualifying campaign. Being competitive in a 2-1 defeat against France in March, before wins against Croatia, Panama and Egypt in friendlies, perhaps gave false hope.

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