Carlo Ancelotti will take charge of his first game as manager of the Brazil national team in the early hours of Friday morning UK time. The Italian has been tasked with leading the Selecao to next year’s World Cup.
Ecuador will provide the opposition for Ancelotti’s maiden match at the helm. Can they spring a surprise or will Brazil triumph?
Ecuador vs Brazil best bets
Brazil to win – 21/20 with Tote Brazil to keep a clean sheet – 11/8 with bet365 Vinicius Junior to score any time – 5/2 with LadbrokesEcuador vs Brazil odds
Find the latest Ecuador vs Brazil betting odds here. All odds are provided by our recommended football bookmakers and are subject to change.
Ecuador vs Brazil predictions
Fourteen games in and Brazil are already on their third manager of this World Cup qualification campaign.
The Selecao have had a tumultuous time of it over the last couple of years. Following a disappointing showing at World Cup 2022 in which they were knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals, Brazil finally accepted the idea of appointing a foreign coach.
There were still pockets of resistance at that point, but the country’s failure to produce top-level managers together with their disappointing record on the world stage over the last two decades pushed them to pursue Carlo Ancelotti.
Fernando Diniz was appointed as interim manager in July 2023. The idea was for Ancelotti to take over a year later. Alternatively, if the Italian proved unobtainable Brazil hoped that Diniz would be ready to step up on a permanent basis.
Despite his impressive work at club level with Fluminense in particular, Diniz was unable to successfully get his ideas across to the Brazil squad. He left in January of last year and was replaced by Dorival Junior.
The five-time world champions were dealt another blow last summer when Ancelotti decided to stay at Real Madrid for at least one more season. Brazil therefore stuck with Dorival, yet they never gave up hope of landing Ancelotti one day.
Now they have finally got their man. With barely a year until the World Cup begins, Ancelotti has plenty of work to do.
Brazil have underwhelmed in qualifying so far. There is no danger of them missing out on the World Cup given the expansion to 48 teams, but their position of fourth in the 10-team standings shows they have hardly set the process alight up to now.
As well as seeking three points against Ecuador, Ancelotti will be running the rule over the players at his disposal ahead of the World Cup.
The early signs suggest the former Madrid boss will use a 4-4-2 system, although Ancelotti’s managerial career shows he is nothing if not adaptable.
“I want to make the most of the huge amount of quality this country has, and to work on bringing that quality together for one common goal: to win the World Cup,” he said at his introductory press conference. First Brazil must get there.
Ecuador vs Brazil betting tips. 18+ GambleAware.org – Please play responsibly.Ecuador vs Brazil betting tips
Ecuador and Brazil go head-to-head in a South American World Cup qualifier this week.
Brazil to win
Ecuador are two places above Brazil in the qualification table going into this head-to-head clash.
They have two more points to their name than the Selecao despite having had three deducted from the start of the cycle.
Brazil still beat them in the reverse fixture and we anticipate the same outcome here. Ancelotti has had a few days to work with his new players, all of whom will be desperate to impress the new manager.
There is a palpable feel-good factor around the Brazil camp right now and that should carry them to victory.
Bear in mind, too, that this game is being played just four metres above sea level in Guayacil, rather than at altitude in Quito. That makes Brazil’s task easier.
Choose a Brazil win at 21/20 with Tote
Brazil to keep a clean sheet
Ecuador’s success so far in this campaign has been built on a rock-solid backline that has been breached only five times.
That gives Ecuador the best defensive record in the region. The flip side is their record of 13 goals scored in 14 games, a worse return than Bolivia in eighth place.
Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile have all shut Ecuador out, as did Brazil in that aforementioned meeting between the pair.
It is usually quicker and easier to coach a defence than an attack, so Ancelotti has probably started building from the back.
We could see the early fruits of that work against Ecuador.
Tip a Brazil clean sheet at 7/10 with bet365
Vinicius Junior to score any time
After a magnificent season with Barcelona, Raphinha would surely have started this game had he not been suspended.
Neymar, Rodrygo and Endrick are all absent from the squad, so the Manchester United-bound Matheus Cunha could be given a chance to impress from the first whistle.
Regardless, Vinicius Junior remains the main man in attack. His importance to the Brazilian cause has only grown since the appointment of Ancelotti, a manager he knows well.
The Brazilian public still wants to see more from Vinicius at international level, especially now he is 24.
There is no better place to start than this match against Ecuador.
Back Vinicius Junior to score any time at 5/2 with Ladbrokes
How to watch Ecuador vs Brazil
Location: Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Date and time: Friday 6 June, 12am. How to watch: Premier Sports 1.About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
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