The Selecao’s loss to France should work as yet another blow to their morale, as it showcased Brazil’s defensive frailties.
France beat Brazil 2-1 in an International Friendly on Thursday as Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike put Brazil’s defensive frailties on display.
Gleison Bremer managed to reduce the deficit, but it wasn’t enough as Brazil’s defensive frailties were on show and they recorded their third loss in their last six international matches, which is a worrisome record for a top international team.
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Brazil has conceded six goals in those six matches, despite keeping two clean sheets.
Their defence has suffered against teams with pacey attacks, which include Japan and France.
Les Bleus second goal was scored through a beautiful counter-attack that simply sliced through Brazil’s defence.
Even for the first French goal, a brilliant through pass from Ousmane Dembele set Mbappe free with only the goalkeeper to beat. Mbappe obliged gleefully to expose Brazil’s defensive frailties once again.
For the second goal, Michael Olise completed a brilliant counter-attacking move by playing the final pass to Ekitike, who made no mistake in slotting the ball home.
Brazil’s defensive frailties saw the team in disarray as France made quick transitions and did not look to be in a position to stop those attacks.
In October 2025, Japan pumped in three goals past the Brazilian defence with their pacey attacks, which only confirms the trend.
Both Marquinhos and Casemiro are able defensive players, but are not fast enough any more.
They are 31 and 34, respectively, and hence, quite understandably, will suffer against quality young attackers like Dembele, Mbappe or Olise.
However, Marquinhos did not start for Brazil against France. Leo Pereira and Bremer started as the centre-backs, but they are unlikely to be the duo that starts at the 2026 World Cup this summer in North America.
Eder Militao, another Brazilian centre-back, is 28 and should be in the prime of his footballing career. However, he has been plagued by injuries for the last few months, and as a result, his World Cup preparations are being affected.
It is a race with time for the Real Madrid defender to be fit, because if he isn’t, Brazil’s chances of getting their act together defensively seem really slim.
Casemiro is having a very good season for Manchester United, but he is no longer the player he was a decade ago in terms of foiling opposition attacks.
Hence, in a way, Brazil’s loss to a quality side like France seemed inevitable. Unless Carlo Ancelotti addresses their defensive issues, Brazil’s chances of winning their sixth World Cup title seem really very low.
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Brazil will play against Croatia and Egypt in two International Friendlies before the World Cup begins in June.
The Selecao will thus get two more chances to put the defeat against France behind them.
However, as yet another Brazil loss pointed out, the team is not quite in a position to bring the World Cup home.
Brazil have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup only once since winning the trophy in 2002, which saw them suffer an ignominious 7-1 defeat to Germany.
Brazil’s loss to France should serve as a stark reminder to Carlo Ancelotti to the effect that the defensive abilities of his team are not great at the moment.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Fotoarena
Recording Date: 26.03.2026
