"India does not have culture of football": Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of India friendly
The Blue Tigers will play Brazil for the first time in their history.
On 3rd October 2026, the Blue Tigers will face the Brazil men’s football team for the first time at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.
The match will mark the 5th ranked Brazil as the highest ranked nation that India will have played in their history. The five-time FIFA World Cup winners will play against India with many of their marquee players such as Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Endrick, Bruno Guimaraes, Marquinhos, etc.
This matchup will be the first time most players & coaching staff will be visiting India, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti being one of them.
As a manager, Carlo Ancelotti has won 5 UEFA Champions Leagues & remains to be the only manager to win the domestic title in the top 5 leagues in the world. The Italian manager took on the helm as head coach for the five-time World Champions in 2025.
Despite his success with club football, his tenure as a coach in the international football has been mediocre. In his 17 matches with the Seleção, the team have won only 10 matches, while drawing 3 and losing 4.
Even for a manager with Carlo’s stature the FIFA World Cup proved to be a challenge as Brazil were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the Round of 16 against Norway.
Before playing against India, Brazil will play two International friendlies Australia on 25th September & 29th September. This window will help the Italian head coach to start the next World Cup cycle fresh with some young talent.
In a conversation with TOI, Carlo opened up about the India fixture. Take a look at what the Italian had to say.
The importance of friendly against India
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The Italian spoke how the game being a friendly does not diminish the stakes of the match. In fact, the matches that Brazill will play are a very important stage in their preparation for the 2028 Copa America & the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
When asked on his views about playing a lower ranked nation like India, Carlo said, “Brazil has supporters in every corner of the world. The history of this national team is really important. It’s a pleasure for us to play in India, not just for the Brazilian supporters, but also those in India. It’s a preparatory game, a friendly, but for us, there’s never a friendly game. When you play for the national team, you have to always do your best. We are working on building a new generation of players. We have a base that comes from the last World Cup. Now we are focused on preparing for the Copa America in 2028 and World Cup in 2030.”
Carlo was asked about his opinion on Indian Football, he said “We have to see other nations, other cultures. We are used to playing friendlies with different styles. India will be exciting. It’s true that India does not have a good experience (of facing world class opponents), but it’s important for us to know how they play. I’ve never been to India. I am very excited to come to Kolkata.”
Carlos even had a small bit of advice for how to grow the sport & culture for football, that is not as popular as other sports in India.
Speaking on India not being a football giant despite having a large population, he had to say “I think it’s a problem of culture. India does not have a culture of football, but they are good in other sports. You have to work on this to build a new generation of players.”
Discusses Brazil’s friendly plans and squad transition
In this international window, Brazil will play two friendlies against Australia and end the window by visiting Kolkata to play a friendly against India. All of the Seleção’s international matches are friendlies against lower ranked opponents.
When asked on the benefit of playing these friendlies, Ancelotti said, “Friendlies are used to have a look at different players. My goal is to have a look at players who I don’t know really well. It will help me when I select the final squad for (major) competitions. We have had a fantastic generation that played the World Cup in 2018, 2022 & 2026. Now, we must place this generation.”
Most of the players selected for the squad currently play for clubs all over Europe and South America. Their fitness is a big concern considering the amount of travelling the players have had to do.
Speaking on the health of his players and the burden of long flights, the Italian said, “The players that have come to Australia are all happy to be here even after a long flight. There are no discussions on resting players. I have never heard a Brazilian player ask not to field him for the national team. All players will be available.”
The Brazil national team have not won any major International tournaments since their 2019 Copa America title. Despite having a large pool of talent, the squad noticeably has a limited amount of veterans included.
When asked about his intentions regarding the squad selection, Carlo said. “We have a strong base of players like Marquinhos, Gabriel (Magalhães), Bruno (Guimaraes), Raphinha, Vini (Jr). We want to build around them a new group with new young players. Brazilian football always builds new talented players. It’s true that we have some young players who are not playing in clubs right now, but we are going to give them possibilities to grow and improve for the future of the national team.”
On Brazil’s selection headache and Vinicius’ form
Brazil are one of the biggest footballing nations in the world; there are more than 900 players who have represented the Brazilian national team. The nation is bound to have more than just a few players that deserve to play for the five-time World Champions. This creates a huge selection problem for the coaching staff,
Carlo said, “It’s difficult because there is a lot of competition. Every weekend, we look at about 60-70 players who can be part of the national team. We are looking everywhere; watching games in Europe, in Russia, in Saudi Arabia. Brazilian players are everywhere, all of them with very good qualities.”
The selection of the squad is not the only concern for the Italian, as his star player during his time at Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr, has not had a good start to the season so far.
When asked about Vinicius’ lack of quality for the past couple of seasons, Carlo responded saying, “Maybe, this is not his best moment, but, for example, at the World Cup, he did well for us. A player cannot always be 100%. The quality that Vinicius has cannot be debated. He is a fantastic player, one of the best in the world. I’m sure he will be at his best in the next games.”
Who is the head coach of Brazil football team?
Carlo Ancelotti is the head coach of the Seleção.
When will India play against Brazil?
The Indian national football team will host & play Brazil on 3rd October 2026 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan at 7:30 PM IST.
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