Brazil’s first squad under new national coach Carlo Ancelotti includes Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, and Manchester United winger Antony, who has been on loan at Real Betis for the second part of the season, have returned for the World Cup qualifying matches in June.
United has designated the winger, who has 16 caps and two goals for his nation, as a priority departure. He has made 25 appearances during his Betis loan so far, scoring nine goals with the Red Devils hopeful to encash as much money as possible from the Brazilian’s possible sale.
The next games for the Seleção will be against Ecuador and Paraguay and despite not being able to make it for the 2024 Copa America and not featuring since 2023 for their home nation, Casemiro and Antony has been called up
The Italian tactician steps in to lead a Brazil team that finished behind Argentina in World Cup qualifiers, falling 4-1 during the March international break. The six best teams will travel to the US, Canada and Mexico the following summer for the tournament.
How can Ancelotti make the right use of these two Manchester United players?
Antony has nine goals and five assists in 25 appearances for Betis prior to Wednesday’s Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland, versus Chelsea. Throughout the second part of the season, he has received widespread praise as one of Spain’s top performers.
His predicament only six months ago, when he was unwanted at United and his career seemed to be in jeopardy due to accusations of abuse against a former girlfriend that are still being looked into by Greater Manchester Police, is a stark contrast.
His stats on every metric—goals, assists, touches, and carries—are far higher at Betis than they were during his last 18 months at United.
Antony’s goal in the 91st minute at Espanyol, a curling left-footed effort from the corner of the penalty area into the far top corner, was possibly the greatest of his goals for Betis.
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Given Antony’s performance, many at Betis have been considering ways to retain him once his current loan agreement ends so that Ancelloti has plenty of time to have faith in this winger.
In 2022–2023—his debut season with United— Casemiro was among their top performers. But after that, his play deteriorated dangerously, and he was accountable for some of the Red Devils’ losses.
As Kobbie Mainoo made quick progress in the 2023–24 season, he lost his spot in the starting lineup.
Casemiro began to regularly warm the bench for the 20-time English champions when Manuel Ugarte was signed at the beginning of the current campaign.
It became clear that Casemiro had lost a lot of speed and could no longer be relied upon to lead the defensive alone. But as the season went on, his performance graph steadily improved and he began to contribute significantly to his club.
Casemiro is still a strong offensive danger, especially from set pieces, even though his speed has decreased by a yard or two. He has now scored 16 goals for United and frequently darts forward to score from set pieces.
After the coach-player duo played a key role in Madrid winning trophy after trophy, the new Brazil manager is aware of what a machine the old guy is. Even though football prioritises youthful talent above traditional football, which was much more possession orientated and did not play much on the counter, Ancelloti always trusted Casemiro and felt he could add flare in the middle. Brazil has a great manager, in our opinion, and with his experience in this area, they should be able to add another title to their collection in the upcoming World Cup.
The 65-year-old is aware of the pressure to give the record holders a sixth World Cup trophy, but he is willing to take on the job.
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