Author: Vishwajit Sawant
In a disappointing turnaround at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo, Brazil suffered a bitter defeat to Uruguay, marking the end of an unbeaten run that had lasted more than eight years. The script for this defeat is cruel, but coach Fernando Diniz is not shirking the blame. Diniz frankly admitted that he’d had a bad night and put the responsibility squarely on his shoulders.
When asked if Neymar’s absence had affected Brazil’s attacking performance, Diniz avoided singling out individual players. He believed that, even without Neymar, the team had the potential to perform better. He acknowledged that the team as a whole fell short in terms of attacking creativity. According to him, the lack of articulation was not down to a single player, but a collective issue.
Diniz emphasized: “The game was tied up, stitched together and lacked articulation. Not because of one player or another. It was lacking because the team didn’t know how to build. In this sense, the main person responsible is myself“.
In his analysis, Diniz noted that the match was balanced, but Brazil’s defensive errors ended up favoring the Uruguayans. He was disappointed with the two goals conceded due to defensive lapses during set pieces, stressing that such mistakes were unforgivable.
When asked about the challenges of implementing his style of play with limited training on FIFA dates, Diniz saw this defeat as a learning opportunity. He acknowledged that the Brazilian team had top-level talent, but stressed that they lacked aggression and incisiveness, especially in the first half. He believed that the cast needed to take more risks and be more forceful in their approach.
“In the second half, we improved a little. The marking was good, we didn’t give Uruguay too many spaces. There was a lack of forcefulness and this sensitivity we will acquire with time and work“, explained Diniz.
With seven points from four qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup, Brazil are now in third place, ahead of only Venezuela on goals scored. In November, the national team faces Colombia, followed by a match against Argentina, where they hope to bounce back from this setback.
Fernando Diniz, although he took the blame for the recent defeat, remains optimistic about Brazil’s potential and their ability to learn from this defeat in order to improve in future games.