A wave of Brazilian memes has turned Carlo Ancelotti into the villain of a running joke over his reluctance to start 19-year-old Endrick, Brazil’s rising World Cup hope. The jokes, which have spread rapidly online, portray the coach as irrationally afraid to use the forward, even though the issue has become a major talking point around the national team.
The story began in March, when Endrick came off the bench in a friendly against Croatia and made a strong case in just 14 minutes, winning a penalty and assisting Gabriel Martinelli. That performance pushed him into Ancelotti’s plans for the summer, and when Brazil later struggled in friendlies against Panama and Egypt, supporters chanted his name. The same thing happened in the opening match against Morocco, and even after he scored as a substitute in a 0-3 win over Haiti on Friday, the jokes kept coming.
Ancelotti has tried to downplay the noise. After the match, he said, “I am not here to talk about individual players,” and later acknowledged, “I notice that the fans are pressing hard about Endrick.” The pressure is not only from supporters. Former World Cup winners Tostao and Bebeto have urged him to pick the striker, while Zico said, “I do not see any other player in the squad with his characteristics or personality. He is decisive.”
Endrick has already produced big moments for Brazil, including his first international goal against England at Wembley and a decisive display against Mexico in a 2024 friendly. But he has rarely been trusted as a starter. He started only eight games for Real Madrid in the 2024/25 season, averaging 23 minutes across 37 appearances, and his starts for Brazil have been mixed, including a poor outing against Uruguay in Copa America 2024 and a halftime substitution against Paraguay in World Cup qualifying. Ancelotti says the answer is patience, insisting, “We have to use him at the right moment. There is no rush.”
