Connect with us

Sports

‘The beginning of a new cycle’: Carlo Ancelotti breaks silence after Brazil’s shock defeat | Football News

Published

4 weeks ago

on

'The beginning of a new cycle': Carlo Ancelotti breaks silence after Brazil's shock defeat
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti helps Brazil’s Vinicius Junior get upduring the World Cup match between Brazil and Norway (AP Photo)

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted his side’s shock exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup should be viewed as the beginning of a new era rather than the end of a journey after the five-time champions were eliminated by Norway in the Round of 16.Brazil’s campaign came to a disappointing end with a 2-1 defeat, as Erling Haaland struck twice in the second half to send Norway into the quarter-finals for the first time in the men’s team’s history. Neymar converted a penalty deep into stoppage time, but it proved to be only a consolation as Brazil suffered their earliest World Cup exit since 1990.The result was a major setback for one of the tournament favourites, who had topped Group C after drawing with Morocco and defeating Haiti and Scotland before edging past Japan 2-1 in the Round of 32.Reflecting on the defeat, Ancelotti admitted the mood in the Brazil camp was one of deep disappointment but remained confident that the setback would lay the foundations for future success.“It’s obvious that we are all deeply saddened because the team had, until now, not a spectacular World Cup but a good one. I think that in today’s game we could also have deserved to win. When a moment like this happens, you have to think that a defeat is the beginning of a new adventure. I believe that this defeat is not an end, it is the beginning of a new cycle,” he said.Brazil created several opportunities throughout the contest but failed to make them count. Bruno Guimarães missed a first-half penalty with the scores level, while Casemiro was unable to pick out Neymar with a cross during a promising attack that could have produced an equaliser.Ancelotti also defended the decision to allow Guimarães to take the penalty instead of Vinícius Júnior, explaining that his coaching staff had spent a year analysing the team’s penalty options. With Neymar not on the pitch at the time and Raphinha unavailable through injury, Guimarães had been identified as the designated taker.Despite the painful exit, Ancelotti stressed that his focus had already shifted towards rebuilding the national side ahead of the next World Cup.“We will continue working for the national team, trying to improve and seek new ideas. The same thing we did this year. I think the work was good, football is like that, sometimes you have to manage the sadness of a defeat. I’m used to that. We will manage this defeat with a new impetus to the work and in the evaluation of the players,” he concluded.Brazil captain Marquinhos echoed his manager’s frustration, admitting the team failed to capitalise on the chances they created.“We really fell short in the opportunities that we did create,” Marquinhos said. “We had a penalty kick, we had some other chances as well, but here’s the World Cup for you. Those that make the least mistakes are able to move forward to the next round, and to be victorious.”The defeat brought an end to Brazil’s remarkable record in the World Cup knockout stages. Before facing Norway, the Seleção had played 11 previous Round of 16 matches, winning nine, drawing one and losing only once. Their only previous defeat at this stage came against Argentina in 1990, while they progressed past Chile on penalties after a draw in 2014.Brazil also saw a run of eight consecutive World Cup quarter-final appearances come to an end, marking their first failure to reach the last eight since 1990.The loss continued another unwanted trend, with Brazil now having suffered seven successive World Cup knockout defeats against European opposition since beating Germany in the 2002 final. The absence of injured midfielder Lucas Paquetá further compounded the team’s problems as the tournament favourites headed home much earlier than expected.

Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

Kevin Owens makes emotional return at WWE SummerSlam after serious neck injury

Published

10 minutes ago

on

3 August 2026

By

Kevin Owens still has plenty of fight left in him. Seventeen months after a neck injury that nearly cost him his professional wrestling career, Owens made an emphatic return at Night 2 of 2026 WWE SummerSlam on Sunday.

The show began with what had been advertised as a match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn for a No. 1 Contendership to the Undisputed WWE Championship, currently held by CM Punk. Nick Aldis, recently reinstated as SmackDown general manager, had other plans. Moments before the match started, Aldis added Gunther and a returning Owens to the match.

The Minneapolis crowd welcomed Owens back with a roar of excitement and a sigh of relief. After all, there was once a concern that Owens would never wrestle again. He had not performed since beating Zayn in a physically grueling unsanctioned match at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 3, 2025. Owens was preparing for an encounter with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 that never materialized. On April 4, he revealed that he’d been dealing with nagging neck and spinal cord injuries that required surgery.

“The pain in the neck, the stuff going down the arms, the legs not really responding, it’s all been happening,” Owens told Cody Rhodes two months later on the “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast. “It’s been pretty f—ing brutal. I can’t wait for the surgery. And then to move forward, whatever that looks like — but it’s been very frustrating.” 

Advertisement

If not for selling his neck injury during the match, you wouldn’t know his career had nearly ended. Owens crushed his three foes with a swanton bomb to the floor, planted Balor with a fisherman’s buster and even took some decent bumps. Perhaps the most touching moment of their short match was when Owens and Zayn — best friends for decades who started their professional wrestling careers together — embraced before throwing punches. 

Owens scored the pinfall after planting Zayn with a stunner. The win immediately thrusts him back into SmackDown’s main event scene, putting him on a collision course with Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Spooky in Love – When will episodes 7-8 release and what to expect

Published

23 minutes ago

on

3 August 2026

By

Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 will air on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026, respectively, at 9:10 pm KST on tvN. The episodes will be available on Netflix a few hours after the Korean broadcast. It has a total of 12 episodes.

The lead cast features Park Eun-bin as Cheon Yeo-ri, Yang Se-jong as Ma Gang-uk, and Ong Seong-wu as Kang Min-hwan.

What to expect in Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8?

Advertisement

The preview for Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 opens in the aftermath of the sudden engagement announcement between Yeo-ri and Gang-uk.

Baek Gyeong-ja does not accept the news at face value and searches for signs that the arrangement is not genuine. She questions whether Gang-uk’s choice stems from business considerations or actual feelings. Gang-uk states directly that he likes Yeo-ri enough to decide on the engagement. Yeo-ri explains her earlier distance as an attempt to play hard to get.

Family members and others around them express clear resistance to the match and take steps to interfere. Yeo-ri encounters Paeng Myo-sun, Gang-uk’s grandmother, and initially mistakes her for a ghost before realizing she is alive when the older woman greets her. Paeng Myo-sun asks Yeo-ri about her zodiac sign and year of birth.

Ok Gye-hee is shown keeping closer watch on Yeo-ri. Cheon Ha-ri approaches Kang Min-hwan and proposes that they work together, stating that she already has a method to end the engagement. Min-hwan makes his own opposition clear by telling Gang-uk to call off the engagement while there is still time. Min-hwan also locates Yeo-ri’s former fiancé and brings up the actual reason the previous relationship ended, leaving the man without a response.

Advertisement

Yeo-ri and Gang-uk are shown spending additional time together once the engagement is underway. They go on dates and appear to enjoy each other’s company. The preview includes a mysterious phone call received by Yeo-ri at the same time that information about her ability begins to surface. Ha-ri is shown witnessing an event she was not meant to see, which leaves her frozen in place.

Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 recap

Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 aired on August 1 and August 2, 2026. In episode 5, Yeo-ri hugs Gang-uk after believing he has become a ghost. She hears his heartbeat and learns he survived the earlier accident. After discharge, Gang-uk finds he can no longer see ghosts. Yeo-ri suggests they stop meeting.

Media gather at the hotel over the abduction reports. Min-hwan shields Yeo-ri from reporters. Gang-uk notices Min-hwan’s protective actions and feels jealous. Yeo-ri warns Ha-ri about further contact with Seung-jae. Min-hwan invites Yeo-ri to an event at the Yeeon Museum of Art. At the museum event, Gang-uk meets Yeo-ri and later claims he sees ghosts in order to speak with her. She identifies his lies. Gang-uk proposes they work together on the related cold case.

Yeo-ri later feels jealousy when she sees Im Seo-hyeon holding Gang-uk’s hand. Yeo-ri confronts her grandmother over the engagement news leak to the media. She later summons a spirit to solve a case that shows a man killing his girlfriend. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk confront the man at the site. Yeo-ri then agrees to collaborate with Gang-uk on cold cases, beginning with the 300-year-old letter.

Advertisement

In Spooky in Love episode 6, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk set rules for their joint work. Gang-uk locates additional artwork and the missing portion of the letter at a graveyard. Yeo-ri vows to reunite the pair. Later at the museum, Min-hwan gives Yeo-ri a pair of gloves, and they run into Gang-uk and Seo-hyeon.

The group later shares dinner, and Yeo-ri feels jealous of Seo-hyeon’s closeness to Gang-uk. Afterward, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk trip near an alley and share an accidental kiss. They confirm no bare-hand contact occurred and agree to report any spirit sightings to each other.

The next day in Spooky in Love episode 6, Min-hwan obtains a report on Gang-uk’s past heart transplant 12-years ago. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk locate Hwagyeongdang’s burial site under camellia trees at the museum grounds. Yeo-ri trades a family pine tree for the camellias. Ha-ri plans to expose Yeo-ri’s secret and meets her former fiancé.

Yeo-ri visits her hospitalized grandmother, who urges her to engage to Min-hwan. Yeo-ri informs Gang-uk of the impending engagement demand. At a family dinner that includes Min-hwan, Yeo-ri announces her engagement to Gang-uk, leaving those present in shock.

Advertisement

Viewers can stream the released episodes of Spooky in Love on Netflix.