The Brazilian national team's plane returned from the World Cup with only one player on board — Folha de S.Paulo
After the Brazilian national team was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, a charter flight organized by the national federation returned home with only one player on board. The only player to take the flight from New Jersey to Rio de Janeiro was Flamengo defender Danilo.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) had chartered a large plane in advance to bring the team home. However, following their unexpected elimination in the Round of 16 by Norway (1–2), the plane departed the U.S. nearly empty.
Apart from Danilo, the only others on board were federation officials, staff, coaches, and young goalkeeper Leo Nannetti. Nannetti had trained with the national team as the fourth-string goalkeeper but wasn’t even on the official tournament roster.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who leads the national team, decided not to fly to Brazil at all. Immediately after the defeat, he headed to Canada, where his family owns a private home.
Star players also scattered to various resorts to avoid running into fans. For example, Neymar and his family quickly flew to Orlando, while Vinícius Júnior headed to Ibiza for a vacation.
Most of the other players compete in top European leagues, so they traveled to Europe on their own to prepare for the new season.
The team’s behavior sparked a wave of outrage back home. Disgruntled fans have already staged mass protests outside the CBF office.
The Brazilian national team will play its next matches in late September—two friendly matches against Australia. However, whether Ancelotti will be able to regain the fans’ trust after this failure remains highly questionable.
This is according to a report by Folha de S.Paulo.
The Colombian national team became the last team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, defeating Switzerland in a penalty shootout. Neither regulation nor extra time produced a winner, so the fate of the spot in the next round was decided by penalty kicks.
Brazil’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup following a 1-2 loss to Norway in the round of 16 was met with intense emotions in the locker room. According to Brazilian media reports, Neymar, with tears in his eyes, addressed his teammates and the coaching staff, thanking everyone for the journey they had shared.
