Brazil are fixated on Neymar and Endrick – but it’s Matheus Cunha who looks like their saviour

The waves got bigger and bigger, waves of criticism crashing against Carlo Ancelotti. Detractors said Brazil did not have a settled line-up. That Brazil lacked identity. They pulled apart his choices against Morocco; Roger Ibanez at right-back, Igor Thiago up front. Why, Carlo? Why? Then his substitutions at MetLife came under scrutiny. Ancelotti made five of them. But Endrick, he didn’t get on. Why, Carlo? Why? The waves continued. Raphinha looked lost Brazil’s opening match, an underwhelming 1-1 draw. Did he not need more detailed tactical instruction? What value, if any, have you brought to the national team, Carlo? An eyebrow arched. The waves swept over him. They did not take him under.

Pressure? “I mean it’s actually a privilege,” he said. If there’s anyone who can handle choppy waters, it’s ‘Anselocci’. Over the last week at the New York Red Bulls training facility in Morris Township, New Jersey, the 67-year-old Italian watched the waves and came to a realisation. He needed a surfer. Matheus Cunha was one of two changes Ancelotti made against Haiti. He decided to replace Igor Thiago, the Brentford striker, who will rue the chance he missed early on against Morocco when Vinicius Jr stood up a cross for him, which he glanced agonisingly wide.

Whether it’ll be Thiago’s last chance remains to be seen. It is a long tournament and, as Ancelotti said last week, you don’t judge a team or this group of players on their first game at the World Cup. As the waves battered him, he called for patience. Spain lost to Switzerland in 2010. Argentina suffered a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2022. Both recovered to win the tournament.

Cunha scores his second goal against Haiti (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

At Lincoln Financial Field on Friday, Cunha pulled on Brazil’s navy No.9 jersey. Overlooked at the last World Cup in Qatar, when he didn’t make the final squad, this was his moment. Ancelotti likes Cunha for the same reason Man United do. “We can talk about his technical abilities and he can play in three different positions,” United’s CEO Omar Berrada said. “He’s a playmaking attacking midfielder; he can score goals, he can make assists. I think he’s going to lift people off their seats. He’s got a bit of a swagger about him that people are going to really like.” What the marketing execs behind Brazil’s branding call Jogo Bonito.

Except, how many people were calling for Cunha’s introduction to the team?

The media was hardly campaigning for his involvement. Brazilians wanted to know about Neymar instead. When will he be back? Is he fit again? No, he isn’t. Neymar didn’t travel to Philadelphia with the squad. “He will remain in New Jersey to make the most of the final stage of his recovery, making use of the excellent facilities at The Ridge hotel and the Columbia Park training centre,” a statement from the CBF read. So the clamour shifted from Neymar to Endrick.

First, after the Morocco game. Then, before the Haiti game. Isn’t it time for Endrick, Carlo? Come on, please. “Endrick is very talented, an extraordinary talent,” Ancelotti said. “And of course Brazil will benefit from his quality at this World Cup but also in the next World Cup. Endrick is patient. He’s in no rush.” But Brazil is.

Real Madrid paid nearly €50million for the teenager in 2024. He was involved in 15 goals whilst on loan at Lyon in the second half of last season. He’s the next craque, a player who matches the idea of what Brazil thinks a national team player should be. Ancelotti seemed to bow to public pressure to include Neymar in his squad. Would he do the same with Endrick and name him in the starting XI? “It’s hard when you’re in competition with your friends,” Cunha said. “But we see it as a positive thing. When the team is picked it might be good for one, bad for another.” The one Ancelotti selected was good for Cunha and good for Brazil.

Granted Haiti rank 87th in the world. Granted Honduras were 3-0 up against them at half-time in the autumn of last year too. But Brazil did look a little more like Brazil.

Bruno Guimarães and Lucas Paqueta played guileful defence-splitting passes. Casemiro tried balls over the top. Raphinha had a lovely goal disallowed for offside. He then pulled up injured and we were reminded of the talent Brazil have on the bench, as Rayan came on. But the night belonged to Cunha. He came short and linked the play. He won the ball back and launched attacks. He connected with Vini Jr in a 4-2-4 that has its merits against a team of Haiti’s calibre.

Cunha was able to deploy his surfing celebration twice during Friday’s game in Philadelphia (Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP via Getty Images)

Waves of attacks were launched and Cunha scored twice on his World Cup debut. He followed up a parried shot and got lucky as a clearance ricocheted off him into the net. As for his second, Paqueta won the ball back, Vini Jr slipped him through and Cunha dispatched an emphatic near post finish.  He celebrated both as if paddling out to catch a wave, tube riding the critics. “I try to surf when I go to Brazil,” Cunha explained. “I go to a little village around my city. They taught me how to start surfing and now I’m considered a surfer guy.”

He has kept it up in England. “I go to Bristol, but it’s so cold, the water. I need to improve my level.” Cunha lifted Brazil’s at this World Cup.

Asked if the 27-year-old will start against Scotland in Miami, Ancelotti limited himself to say: “He may.” Neymar could be back by then and, in the meantime, Endrick remains an obsession. “I hope that he becomes one of the great Brazilian players,” Cunha magnanimously said. “He has already given the people a lot of joy, playing for Palmeiras and, at other moments, for Brazil. His quality is clear. We’re always messing around with him. He’s very humble, always asking for advice.”

Twice during the game at the Lincoln Financial Field, the Brazil fans unfurled a fluttering banner celebrating five icons of five World Cup winning teams; Didi, Garrincha, Pele, Romario and Ronaldo. Afterwards, in the stadium’s underbelly Kaka, Rivaldo and Bebeto mingled with fans. Waves of nostalgia remain powerful when it comes to Brazil.

Surfing them has proven too tough for too many of this generation and the last. Take Fred and Richarlison. But maybe not Cunha.