Challenging To-Do List For New Brazil Coach Ancelotti

After a warm welcome to Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti is on a mission to fix a stuttering team and win back fans, starting with the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador on June 5.

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SAO PAULO - Here are five issues that the Italian will face.

QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP

"The only goal is to win the 2026 World Cup," said Ancelotti when he took the job.

First he has to get there.

The South American qualifiers are a two-year, 18-match marathon. Brazil's campaign has included a first-ever home World Cup qualifying defeat, 1-0 at the Maracana by old enemies Argentina, part of a run of three straight defeats in 2023 that ended the coaching reign of Fernando Diniz.

Their last match was a 4-1 humiliation in Argentina in March that finished off former coach Dorival Jr. Yet the format is forgiving.

The top six in the 10-team group qualify directly for the World Cup. Brazil are fourth, six points clear of Venezuela in seventh with four matches to go.

Ecuador may be second in the group, but are only two points ahead of Brazil, who then host fifth-placed Paraguay.

Qualifying ends in September with a home game against bottom-of-the-table Chile and a visit to struggling Bolivia.

SOLVE THE NO. 9 CONNUNDRUM