Drop Casemiro, get Endrick involved and the Brazil changes Carlo Ancelotti must make to avoid embarrassment after woeful World Cup opener

Without wanting to go all Jamie Carragher, against Morocco, Casemiro looked a shadow of the player who enjoyed such a resurgence at Manchester United in the second half of the 2025-26 season under Michael Carrick. This wasn't quite 'the football has left him' territory, but it was close.

The 34-year-old looked every bit his age as he toiled throughout his 45 minutes on the pitch, losing six of his eight ground duels and often struggling to cover ground when on the retreat or keep up with the pace of the dynamic Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Casemiro's off-the-boil outing culminated in him picking up a yellow card for a cynical foul and being brutally hooked at half-time as Ancelotti took action despite his longstanding working relationship with the former Real Madrid midfielder.

Ancelotti and Brazil are hamstrung by what is, if we're being brutally honest, an uninspiring squad on paper, but the decision to replace one veteran defensive midfielder with another at the break, instead of the man who is set to fill Casemiro's boots at Old Trafford, was somewhat baffling.

A reflection of the fact that the Selecao seem to be stuck in a transition between two generations, with few viable options emerging to take over in midfield, the Italian tactician turned to 32-year-old Fabinho - who has plied his trade in Saudi Arabia for the past three years - instead of United-bound Ederson, and the former Liverpool man was similarly poor.

Ederson was a late call-up after an injury to right-back Wesley, which suggests he is down the pecking order, but if Ancelotti wants to usher in a new era he must give the 26-year-old his chance in midfield despite a somewhat less impressive season at club level with Atalanta. Friday's clash with Haiti could be the ideal platform for that evolution to begin.

Brazil might have one of the most solid centre-back partnerships at the tournament in Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain, but the quality of the defence is diminished by a lack of quality options around them. Their cause hasn't been helped by the pre-tournament injury to Roma's Wesley.

Nominally a centre-back, Al-Ahli's Roger Ibanez started at right-back against Morocco and was given the run-around by Bilal El Khannouss and Noussair Mazraoui. Just like Casemiro, he was booked and hooked at half-time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was subsequently reported that Ancelotti has trialled using Ederson as a right-back in training ahead of the Haiti clash.

Douglas Santos is solid enough at left-back but, at 32, he is part of the reason why the average age of Brazil's defenders at the tournament is 31. Former Manchester City man Danilo, 34, replaced Ibanez, while ex-Juventus left-back Alex Sandro is still in the squad at 35. There is a serious need for fresh blood.

Another player who struggled badly in Brazil's opener was Igor Thiago - the new man up top after an outstanding season at club level for Brentford. It was probably a case of too much, too soon for a player who only made his international debut in March, in what was - on paper - his country's toughest match of the group phase.

The striker was isolated as his side put in a disjointed all-round display, with a moment of magic from Vinicius saving their blushes as they found themselves 1-0 down. Thiago spurned his two clear sightings of goal, somehow failing to connect with a clipped cross despite rising completely unmarked before blasting a left-footed strike straight at the goalkeeper after being picked out by a quick throw-in, and he was hooked shortly afterwards.

It's been rumoured that the performance will see him lose his place in the starting XI, and Ancelotti would do well to take him out of the firing line. The centre-forward admitted after that it probably came down to 'nervousness'.

That should mean we see Matheus Cunha back in the Selecao's starting XI for the clash with Haiti, and he may well feel aggrieved that he didn't get the nod in the tournament opener against Morocco, given he has vastly more experience in a Brazil shirt than Thiago.

While he might not have been as prolific, Cunha showed in his debut season with Man Utd that he is the man for the big occasion, picking up goal contributions against Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. His capabilities as a roaming false nine or second striker can get the best of those around him, too, as he drops deep to create openings for his team-mates.

It was his sweeping through ball from inside his own half that led to Brazil's best chance of the second half after he emerged from the bench on the hour mark, but Raphinha's finish was disappointing after Vinicius ran onto the pass and pulled it back for the Barcelona man.

It offered a glimpse of why the 27-year-old deserves a chance from the start, perhaps even as the No.10 ahead of Lucas Paqueta despite the fact he wears the No.9 on his back.

Brazil had other potentially game-changing attackers who didn't even make it onto the pitch as they toiled to a draw with the African giants, with Endrick most notable among them.

Indeed, there was widespread criticism of the decision to leave the 19-year-old on the bench and instead introduce Zenit forward Luiz Henrique and former Nottingham Forest midfielder Danilo in the second period. The perception was that this was the kind of match the teenager could have turned on its head, had he been given the opportunity.

The prospect of Cunha playing behind Endrick against Haiti is certainly an intriguing one, and legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario believes the Real Madrid starlet's time will come.

"I am sure he will get his opportunity. He is ready," he told Resenha da Copa. "He is competing out there with other great players. He's on par with Matheus Cunha from Manchester United, and Igor Thiago was a top scorer in England, so we are well-served right now."

As we've touched upon, this is not a vintage Brazil squad, and only the most optimistic Selecao fan - of which there are many, in fairness - will be expecting them to go all the way in North America as a result. You'd think, then, that Ancelotti would be minded to look to the future, and, like Endrick, Rayan should form a big part of that.

The 19-year-old was a revelation after joining Bournemouth from boyhood club Vasco da Gama in January, filling the big boots vacated by Antoine Semenyo. He took to the Premier League like a duck to water, leaning on his bustling physicality and fine finishing ability to rack up seven goal contributions in just 15 appearances to make a late run into the World Cup squad.

Brazil might be well stocked on the wings, but given Rayan is there and in form, you might as well use him - at least off the bench. The Haiti game up next, albeit must-win, also represents the ideal opportunity to experiment.