Sadio Mané scored a brace, Diallo scored another goal and Marquinhos scored an own goal
Lucas Paquetá was the first to punch through the rival goal and the “canarinha” defense compensated for his own goal
Senegal beat Brazil 2-4 today, a cumbersome result which reflects the many weaknesses of the ‘canarinha’ shown in Lisbon and which only increases the desire for a possible arrival of Carlo Ancelotti to his bench. A brace from Sadio Mané was the culmination of a just victory for the Africans, who knew how to take advantage of the troubles that Brazil had been going through since Tite’s farewell.
While Ancelotti, the subject of constant rumors in Brazil, remains in Madrid and without Neymar, sidelined through injury, it fell to Vinícius Júnior to take charge of Brazil in the first half, and it was a real nightmare for the Senegalese team. The young Real Madrid star danced above his rivals in defense and attack, and his deft runs down the left wing were martyrdom for Betic full-back Youssouf Sabaly. The first goal came in one of those plays, when ‘Vini’, in the 10th minute, made a perfectly measured cross from the left side of the field which Luca Paquetaheader, sent to the bottom of the Senegalese goal.
But if Brazil’s future is, in the long term, very well underway, in the short term there are still many rough edges to iron out for the next coach. The five-times world champion’s defensive weaknesses were numerous in the Portuguese capital, with many mistakes and turnovers allowing Senegal to threaten Ederson’s goal on numerous occasions. And in the 22nd minute Senegal equalised, when Diallo collected a rebound and was the first to bring down the Manchester City goalkeeper.
Adding to Brazil’s defensive disconnect is a lack of variety in their attack, with little home play and putting all their chips into the genius of Vinícius. On the side of the reigning African Cup of Nations champions, the headaches were created by Sarr, Watford’s English striker, and his greatest reference, Sadio Mané.
The second half got off to a bad start for Brazil, with two Senegalese goals in a short time paralyzing the thousands of Brazilians who cheered on their team in the stands. It was in the 53rd minute when a new loss of Brazilian possession gave the ball to Senegal and it ended up on Mané’s feet, who with all the time in the world in the area crossed Diallo, who he saw as Marquinhos introduced his shot Network. Then, in the 55th minute, came the masterpiece of Sadio Mane. The Bayern star, who showed form in the second half that has been lacking this season, finished on the edge of the box and the ball slipped out of reach of the opposition goalkeeper in a beautiful arc. The South American team, yes, did not collapse and cut the gap in the 58th minute thanks to the mediation of marquinhoswhich he remedied with his own goal with the 2-3.
The second half offers a Brazil less dependent on Vinícius and with the intention of diversifying its game proposal, but unable to break the highly organized Senegalese defense. And in the last play of the match, the ‘excreted’ defense was unable to keep up with the speed of Jackson, a Villarreal player, who landed in the box, penalty that Mané does not miss.
While the long-awaited arrival of Carlo Ancelotti does not materialize, Brazil is now facing the South American qualifying phase for the World Cup in September 2026, three months in which it will have a lot to do if it wants to return to the top of the football world.