At 67 years old, Ancelotti refuses to step down! He disputes the elimination, stating that Brazil deserved the victory and played a decent World Cup.

In the third round-of-16 match of the World Cup, concluding on July 6th Beijing time, tournament favorites Brazil lost 1-2 to Norway, surprisingly failing to make the last eight, setting a record for their worst World Cup finish in 36 years.[Watch the World Cup on Migu Video]

After the game, the 67-year-old Brazilian manager, Carlo Ancelotti, refused to step down from his position at the press conference. He also pushed back against the outcome, insisting that Brazil deserved to advance. Despite failing to reach the quarterfinals, he claimed the team still played a “decent” World Cup.

Ancelotti stated, “I believe Brazil deserved to win this match. We performed well for a long period. We had many chances in the first half, and opportunities during the 0-0 scoreline in the second half. The substitutions were made to add energy, provide more depth, and try to win the game.”

Despite the failure to reach the quarterfinals, Ancelotti maintained that Brazil’s World Cup campaign was decent: “Obviously, we are all very sad.But I think, up to this point, we have played at least a decent World Cup, if not a particularly outstanding one.A single loss is the start of a new adventure. We must continue to improve and look for new ideas. This is not an ending, but the start of a new cycle.”

The veteran coach also refused to take the blame and resign: “I believe I have done my job well. Football is like this; sometimes you must endure the sadness of defeat. I am used to it. We will go back to work with renewed motivation and evaluate the players.”

Regarding his substitution choices and penalty taker selection, Ancelotti explained, “Because we analyzed the relevant data from the past year for both our players and the opposition. We ultimately chose Joelinton, because we felt he was the most suitable player available at that time.”

“Endrick came on to provide more depth. He had a chance just one minute after coming on. We brought Neymar on to improve our quality in the final third, with Endrick on the right. Then I substituted Joelinton because he was tired and we needed fresh legs in midfield.”

As the highest-paid coach in this World Cup, earning an annual salary of 10 million euros with Brazil, Ancelotti's elimination means the long-standing tradition of the World Cup winner being led by a manager from their home country continues after this edition.

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