{"id":749438,"date":"2026-06-20T20:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749438\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T20:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:04:14","slug":"brazil-are-fixated-on-neymar-and-endrick-but-its-matheus-cunha-who-looks-like-their-saviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749438\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil are fixated on Neymar and Endrick \u2013 but it\u2019s Matheus Cunha who looks like their saviour"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Netherlands vs Sweden<\/a> and Germany vs Ivory Coast<\/a> at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/a><\/p>\n

The waves got bigger and bigger, waves of criticism crashing against Carlo Ancelotti. Detractors said Brazil did not have a settled line-up and lacked identity. They pulled apart his choices against Morocco; Roger Ibanez at right-back, Igor Thiago up front. Why, Carlo? Why? Then his substitutions at MetLife came under scrutiny. Ancelotti made five of them. But Endrick, he didn\u2019t get on. Why, Carlo? Why? The waves continued. Raphinha looked lost Brazil\u2019s opening match, an underwhelming 1-1 draw. Did he not need more detailed tactical instruction? What value, if any, have you brought to the national team, Carlo? An eyebrow arched. The waves swept over him. They did not take him under.<\/p>\n

Pressure? \u201cI mean it\u2019s actually a privilege,\u201d he said. If there\u2019s anyone who can handle choppy waters, it\u2019s \u2018Anselocci\u2019. Over the last week at the New York Red Bulls training facility in Morris Township, New Jersey, the 67-year-old Italian watched the waves and came to a realisation. He needed a surfer. Matheus Cunha was one of two changes Ancelotti made against Haiti. He decided to replace Igor Thiago, the Brentford striker, who will rue the chance he missed early on against Morocco when Vinicius Jr stood up a cross for him, which he glanced agonisingly wide.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019ll be Thiago\u2019s last chance remains to be seen. It is a long tournament and, as Ancelotti said last week, you don\u2019t judge a team or this group of players on their first game at the World Cup. As the waves battered him, he called for patience. Spain lost to Switzerland in 2010. Argentina suffered a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2022. Both recovered to win the tournament.<\/p>\n

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\n Cunha scores his second goal against Haiti (Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

At Lincoln Financial Field on Friday, Cunha pulled on Brazil\u2019s navy No 9 jersey. Overlooked at the last World Cup in Qatar, when he didn\u2019t make the final squad, this was his moment. Ancelotti likes Cunha for the same reason Manchester United do. \u201cWe can talk about his technical abilities and he can play in three different positions,\u201d United\u2019s CEO Omar Berrada said. \u201cHe\u2019s a playmaking attacking midfielder; he can score goals, he can make assists. I think he\u2019s going to lift people off their seats. He\u2019s got a bit of a swagger about him that people are going to really like.\u201d What the marketing execs behind Brazil\u2019s branding call Jogo Bonito.<\/p>\n

Except, how many people were calling for Cunha\u2019s introduction to the team?<\/p>\n

The media were hardly campaigning for his involvement. Brazilians wanted to know about Neymar instead. When will he be back? Is he fit again? No, he isn\u2019t. Neymar didn\u2019t travel to Philadelphia with the squad. \u201cHe will remain in New Jersey to make the most of the final stage of his recovery, making use of the excellent facilities at The Ridge hotel and the Columbia Park training centre,\u201d a statement from the CBF read. So the clamour shifted from Neymar to Endrick.<\/p>\n

First, after the Morocco game. Then, before the Haiti game. Isn\u2019t it time for Endrick, Carlo? Come on, please. \u201cEndrick is very talented, an extraordinary talent,\u201d Ancelotti said. \u201cAnd of course Brazil will benefit from his quality at this World Cup but also in the next World Cup. Endrick is patient. He\u2019s in no rush.\u201d But Brazil is.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid paid nearly \u20ac50million for the teenager in 2024. He was involved in 15 goals whilst on loan at Lyon in the second half of last season. He\u2019s the next craque, a player who matches the idea of what Brazil thinks a national team player should be. Ancelotti seemed to bow to public pressure to include Neymar in his squad. Would he do the same with Endrick and name him in the starting XI? \u201cIt\u2019s hard when you\u2019re in competition with your friends,\u201d Cunha said. \u201cBut we see it as a positive thing. When the team is picked, it might be good for one, bad for another.\u201d The one Ancelotti selected was good for Cunha and good for Brazil.<\/p>\n

Granted, Haiti rank 87th in the world. Granted, Honduras were 3-0 up against them at half-time in the autumn of last year too. But Brazil did look a little more like Brazil.<\/p>\n

Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta played guileful defence-splitting passes. Casemiro tried balls over the top. Raphinha had a lovely goal disallowed for offside. He then pulled up injured and we were reminded of the talent Brazil have on the bench, as Rayan came on. But the night belonged to Cunha. He came short and linked the play. He won the ball back and launched attacks. He connected with Vini Jr in a 4-2-4 that has its merits against a team of Haiti\u2019s calibre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Cunha was able to deploy his surfing celebration twice during Friday\u2019s game in Philadelphia (Mauro PIMENTEL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Waves of attacks were launched and Cunha scored twice on his World Cup debut. He followed up a parried shot and got lucky as a clearance ricocheted off him into the net. As for his second, Paqueta won the ball back, Vini Jr slipped him through and Cunha dispatched an emphatic near-post finish.\u00a0 He celebrated both as if paddling out to catch a wave, tube riding the critics. \u201cI try to surf when I go to Brazil,\u201d Cunha explained. \u201cI go to a little village around my city. They taught me how to start surfing and now I\u2019m considered a surfer guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has kept it up in England. \u201cI go to Bristol, but it\u2019s so cold, the water. I need to improve my level.\u201d Cunha lifted Brazil\u2019s at this World Cup.<\/p>\n

Asked if the 27-year-old will start against Scotland in Miami, Ancelotti limited himself to say: \u201cHe may.\u201d Neymar could be back by then and, in the meantime, Endrick remains an obsession. \u201cI hope that he becomes one of the great Brazilian players,\u201d Cunha magnanimously said. \u201cHe has already given the people a lot of joy, playing for Palmeiras and, at other moments, for Brazil. His quality is clear. We\u2019re always messing around with him. He\u2019s very humble, always asking for advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twice during the game at the Lincoln Financial Field, the Brazil fans unfurled a fluttering banner celebrating five icons of five World Cup-winning teams; Didi, Garrincha, Pele, Romario and Ronaldo. Afterwards, in the stadium\u2019s underbelly, Kaka, Rivaldo and Bebeto mingled with fans. Waves of nostalgia remain powerful when it comes to Brazil.<\/p>\n

Surfing them has proven too tough for too many of this generation and the last. Take Fred and Richarlison. But maybe not Cunha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Netherlands vs Sweden and Germany vs Ivory Coast at the 2026 FIFA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,11308,126352,596,1525,85],"class_list":["post-749438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-brazil","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-football","tag-manchester-united","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}