Sawt Falasteen - Raphinha eager to deliver for Ancelotti as Brazil get set for World Cup bid

The pair came up against each other over three years in Spain when the 29-year-old forward was at Barcelona and Ancelotti was on the Real Madrid bench.

Ancelotti left Madrid at the end of last season, after a campaign in which Raphinha scored as he captained Barca to a 4-0 win at the Bernabeu in La Liga and netted twice as the Catalans won 4-3 in the reverse fixture, en route to taking the title.

He also featured in the Barcelona teams that beat Ancelotti's Real in the finals of the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

"What he has achieved in football is admirable, not just to those who worked with him but also his opponents," Raphinha told reporters Wednesday at the Brazil team's World Cup base in New Jersey.

"It was always very difficult coming up against him, but I was lucky to come out smiling a lot of the time.

"Now I hope to do for him all the things I did against him. To help get good results for him and for the team, because they really deserve it."

Ancelotti is leading Brazil as they attempt to end a 24-year wait to win a record-extending sixth World Cup at the tournament in North America.

The former AC Milan and Chelsea coach celebrated his 67th birthday on Wednesday, three days before the Selecao begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco in Group C at the MetLife Stadium, just outside New York City.

Brazil are set to go into that game without Neymar, who was called up for the tournament despite not being capped since 2023 because of injuries and is now set to miss Saturday's match due to a calf problem.

- Attacking leader -

Raphinha may need to step up in Neymar's absence, four years after his first World Cup in which he appeared in every game but failed to score as the Selecao went out to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals in Qatar.

"I think I felt more pressure in 2022, because I was more immature. I was quite new to the national team and had just arrived at Barcelona," said the former Leeds United winger.

"I didn't feel completely settled in the Brazil squad. I feel much more ready now."

He is coming off a season in which he scored 21 goals and set up eight more in all competitions as Barcelona won La Liga.

But he missed five of Brazil's six friendly games between October and March due to injuries.

He and Vinicius Junior, who played under Ancelotti in Madrid, were the only two Brazilians ranked in the top 30 in last year's Ballon d'Or and carry much of the attacking responsibility for their country going into the World Cup.

"We are the only nation to have won five World Cups. You can't play in a tournament like this if you are not ready to handle the pressure," he said.

"We are very confident. We have had years of frustration, because we had teams that were capable of winning and did not. And none of us want more frustration."

Brazil will also play Haiti and Scotland in the group stage.

G.AbuOdeh--SF-PST