Carlo Ancelotti's World Cup Selection Correction and Carrick's Dilemma
Carlo Ancelotti has moved to correct what many in Brazil saw as a World Cup selection blunder. Michael Carrick may now have to follow suit.
The Brazil coach has recalled Chelsea forward Joao Pedro after his puzzling omission from the summer squad, a decision that looked increasingly untenable as the 22-year-old tore into the new Premier League season. Brazil’s last-16 exit and Pedro’s blistering form have forced Ancelotti’s hand, earning the striker a place in the squad for this month’s friendlies against Australia.
One Brazilian forward is back in favour. Another is watching his stock fall.
Matheus Cunha, who impressed for Brazil at the World Cup and shone for Manchester United last season, finds himself in a very different place. Left out of Ancelotti’s latest squad, the 27-year-old is also under growing pressure at Old Trafford after a difficult second campaign.
Carrick has persisted with Cunha as his central striker, mirroring the role he played for Brazil in the summer and for long stretches of his debut year in Manchester. The experiment is coming under heavy fire.
Scholes calls it
Paul Scholes didn’t bother dressing it up.
“I felt it was really timid against Everton,” he said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast. “There was no aggression, and Everton were there for the taking. There was so much space, and they never went for the throat.”
The turning point at Goodison came when Carrick finally turned to a proper No.9. Benjamin Sesko, a natural centre-forward, came off the bench and scored, underlining the argument that has been bubbling away for weeks.
“The centre-forward position is a bit of an issue because he is not playing Sesko,” Scholes continued. “He is a focal point. It is very difficult to watch a Manchester United team without a centre forward.
“With Cunha, we don’t really know what he is, a No.10 or a wide player, but he’s definitely not a No.9 and watching United without a No.9 is a struggle.”
‘A total zero’
In Slovenia, where Sesko is a national hero, the debate has turned into a full-blown verdict.
“Sesko flies on the shameful numbers of the Brazilian – fans firmly against Carrick,” blasted leading outlet Ekipa.
Their assessment of Cunha’s display was scathing. “He completely failed, showing a catastrophic performance. A total zero. Cunha ended with zero shots on target, zero assists, zero dribbles. He lost the ball 11 times and was beaten in every aerial duel.”
The criticism then turned on Carrick.
“Carrick insisting that Sesko is still more effective on the bench, while the Brazilian plays up front, is driving fans crazy. Sesko has to play from the first minute, they’re yelling.”
It’s not just noise from abroad. The pattern is obvious: United look more direct, more dangerous, and more like themselves with a genuine centre-forward occupying defenders and stretching the pitch.
Big call before Europe
Carrick now faces a decision that could define United’s early season rhythm.
Bryan Mbeumo has nailed down the right flank. Marcus Rashford, back on the left at his boyhood club and clearly intent on reasserting himself, has rediscovered some of his old menace. That leaves the central role as the final piece of the attacking jigsaw.
If Sesko comes back into the starting XI, Cunha almost certainly drops to the bench when United return to Champions League action against Sabah on Thursday night. For a player who has just been overlooked by his country and savaged for his club performance, it would cap a bruising few days.
Ancelotti has already made his adjustment. The question now hangs over Old Trafford: will Carrick be just as ruthless with his No.9?
