With players from Flamengo, the Brazilian Under-20 team plays this Thursday (05) against Mexico

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) took advantage of Friday night (4) to officially announce Maracanã as the venue for Brazil vs Chile, for the World Cup Qualifiers, on September 4. The duel will be valid for the 17th round and marks Carlo Ancelotti's third match in charge of the National Team. So far, they have drawn 0-0 with Ecuador and beaten Paraguay 1-0.

Ancelotti at the Maraca

The latter was in São Paulo, Ancelotti's first match on Brazilian soil. In other words, the match against Chile will mark the first visit to Rio de Janeiro, in the Italian's second match on Brazilian soil. After facing Chile, Brazil will only have one more game left in the World Cup qualifiers: against Bolivia, away from home, on September 9.

The National Team is in third place in the Qualifiers and has already qualified for the World Cup. So far, they have 25 points in 16 games, with seven wins, four draws and five losses. Argentina leads with 35 points and 11 wins, two draws and three losses.

Ancelotti has a mission to fix Brazil

What stands out most about Brazil's campaign is the number of goals conceded: 16. This is the same number of games the team has conceded in the tournament so far, which represents an average of one goal scored per game. The number, of course, ends up being inflated by the 4-0 defeat to Argentina, but it is still important. After all, among the top six (Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia), Brazil's defense is the worst of all.

The strong participation of Brazilian clubs, including Flamengo, in the FIFA Club World Cup was not only reflected on the field and in the audience on Globo . The impact on social media, especially on TikTok, was also huge.

Recent data obtained by the column shows that the global tournament was the trigger for a surge in interest in content related to national teams on the platform between June 17 and 30. Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras recorded significant increases in both views and video publications during the championship period.

FLAMENGO DOMINANT

Flamengo has remained one of the country's leading digital powers. During the Club World Cup, videos featuring content about the red-and-black club surpassed 2 billion views, making it the team with the highest volume of views among Brazilians on the social network. The number of posts related to the club increased by 150%, consolidating Flamengo as one of the clubs with the highest engagement on TikTok.

THE OTHER BRAZILIANS HAD GOOD NUMBERS

• Botafogo , which entered the competition after a remarkable season, experienced a real explosion of interest. Videos related to the black and white club accumulated more than 980 million views on TikTok in Brazil alone. In addition, the number of posts mentioning Botafogo grew by 290% compared to the two weeks before the start of the competition.
• Fluminense , the current semi-finalist of the tournament , also rode the wave of the World Cup. The Tricolor from Rio saw its videos reach more than 370 million views, with a 225% increase in the number of publications compared to the previous two weeks. As it is still in the competition, this number should increase.
• Palmeiras , another Brazilian team still in the competition, also reaped the rewards on social media. Content about Verdão registered more than 950 million views, with a 116% increase in publications compared to the previous period. The excitement of the fans, the debut of new players and the qualification in the initial stages of the competition fueled online engagement.

Flamengo striker Pedro has been a constant topic in the national sports press due to his current reserve status. After a period of recovery due to a serious injury, the player has not yet managed to return to the performance that consolidated him as one of the club's offensive references. Last Friday (04), ESPN commentator Rodrigo Bueno criticized the athlete's attitude and recent performance.

According to Bueno, Pedro's poor form justifies his current position in the squad. In his opinion, the player is not playing well enough to be a starter for Mengão and, consequently, should not be considered for the Brazilian National Team under Carlo Ancelotti.

“ The program talks, the television talks, and the field talks . And the field is talking: Pedro , you’re not well. Pedro, unfortunately, is a very nice guy, a great player, but this was his second serious injury, right? He had two very serious injuries, and he didn’t come back at the level that was expected, the level that we know he has,” declared the journalist.

PLAYER LOST SPOT IN THE TEAM

Pedro returned to the red-black squad at the beginning of this season after recovering from a serious injury sustained during training with the Brazilian national team. The recovery required surgery and a long period away from the pitch , compromising his sequence of games.

Since then, coach Filipe Luís has preferred to field a more dynamic attack , made up of players with greater mobility, such as Luiz Araújo, Bruno Henrique and Gonzalo Plata. This has meant that the number 9 has lost ground among the starters, despite his history as a top scorer and his strong participation in previous campaigns.

PEDRO'S SITUATION

During the Club World Cup , for example, Pedro was called up frequently, but failed to score any goals . Wallace Yan, a revelation from the youth academy, took advantage of his opportunities and scored twice, gaining prominence and more space in the squad.

“Today, both Carlo Ancelotti and Filipe Luís, I think, are not in a position to call him up for the Brazilian national team, and even Filipe Luís cannot put him in the starting line-up, given what he has been showing, or what he has not been showing,” added Rodrigo Bueno.