Danilo’s self-criticism before Haiti match

The discussion over Brazil’s toothless performance against Morocco shows no signs of stopping. The topic also came up in defender Danilo’s press conference ahead of the team’s next match. The Brazilian defender criticised himself and said they failed to come anywhere near expectations.

Brazil started this World Cup with a 1-1 draw against the African side last Sunday. The poor performance shown by the five-time world champions that day continues to draw discussion and criticism.

In that lacklustre contest, Brazil conceded first. In the 21st minute, Ismael Saibari put Morocco ahead with a counter-attack. However, the South American side did not take long to equalise, with Vinicius Junior restoring parity through his brilliance.

In the second half, both teams’ pace slowed down. They seemed more focused on not conceding a goal. As a result, no further goals were scored.

Although Brazil were ahead in strength, ability, and football heritage compared to Morocco, there was no reflection of that in their on-field performance. This led to intense criticism. Even before the next match, the disappointment against Morocco keeps coming up repeatedly.

In Group C, Brazil will face Haiti in their second match on Saturday at 6:30am Bangladesh time. Danilo, who came on as a substitute against Morocco, said they now need to first identify their weaknesses and work on them.

“We need to have a clear idea about ourselves. The best way to improve and correct mistakes is to face reality and do a detailed, unbiased analysis of what happened.”

“We must definitely understand that in the first half (against Morocco) we were nowhere near our capability. And we could not deliver the level of performance that is expected from the Brazil team.”