Carlo Ancelotti's Bold Move: Joao Pedro Returns to Brazil Squad
Carlo Ancelotti has already corrected one glaring mistake. Michael Carrick might have to follow.
As Brazil’s new head coach, Ancelotti has moved quickly to right a World Cup selection wrong by recalling Chelsea forward Joao Pedro, whose omission in the summer looked baffling even before his explosive start to this Premier League season. Now, after Brazil’s last-16 exit and Pedro’s form at Stamford Bridge, leaving him out of the squad for this month’s friendlies against Australia was no longer an option.
Neymar, whose inclusion at the World Cup divided opinion, is out. So is Matheus Cunha. The Manchester United attacker impressed for Brazil in the summer and was one of United’s brighter sparks last term, but his second season at Old Trafford has stalled badly.
Carrick has persisted with Cunha as his No.9, mirroring the role he played for the Selecao and for long spells in his debut campaign in Manchester. It has not convinced everyone. Far from it.
Scholes calls it out
Paul Scholes, never one to sugar-coat an opinion, has made his stance brutally clear. For him, Cunha is playing in the wrong role – and United are suffering for it.
“I felt it was really timid against Everton,” Scholes 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 centre-forward position is a bit of an issue because he is not playing Sesko. 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.”
Scholes’ argument gained weight almost immediately. Against Everton on Sunday, Benjamin Sesko – a more natural centre-forward – stepped off the bench, replaced Cunha and found the net. One touch, one chance, one goal. The kind of clarity United’s attack has been crying out for.
‘A total zero’ – Slovenia turns up the heat
If the criticism in England has been sharp, the reaction in Slovenia has been scorching.
Local media have lined up behind Sesko and turned their fire on Carrick’s decision to keep him on the bench. Leading outlet Ekira didn’t bother with nuance.
“Sesko flies on the shameful numbers of the Brazilian – fans firmly against Carrick,” it declared.
Their assessment of Cunha’s latest outing was savage.
“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.
“But 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.”
Bias towards their national hero? Of course. But the numbers are hard to argue with, and they echo the frustration building among United supporters who see a side without a true spearhead.
Big call looming for Carrick
The shape of United’s attack only tightens the squeeze on Cunha.
Bryan Mbeumo has nailed down the right flank. Marcus Rashford, back at his boyhood club and playing with the body language of a man desperate to reassert himself, has the left. There is no obvious space to simply shift Cunha wide and keep everyone happy.
So the decision becomes stark. If Sesko returns to the starting XI, Cunha almost certainly drops out.
That moment could come as early as Thursday night, when United resume their Champions League campaign against Sabah. For Cunha, that would cap a bruising spell: overlooked by Brazil, under fire at club level, and potentially out of the side altogether.
Ancelotti has already made his ruthless call. Now all eyes are on Carrick. Does he trust his Brazilian project at centre-forward, or does he finally hand the keys of United’s attack to the Slovenian No.9?
