BRISBANE, Queensland -- Carlo Ancelotti has welcomed scrutiny of his performance as Brazil coach but insists that he won't allow it to affect his attempts to foster a new generation of players for the next Copa América and FIFA World Cup.
After playing out a 1-1 draw in Townsville last Friday, the Seleção will face Australia for the second time in four days on Tuesday evening at Lang Park in Brisbane, before jetting off to face India in Kolkata in October.
They had been scheduled to stage an open training session for supporters on Monday but scrapped those plans in favour of a closed-to-the-public hitout, with their Wednesday recovery now scheduled to be open instead.
That switch came just days after Rayan's 95th-minute header rescued a draw against the Socceroos, avoiding what would have been just a second-ever defeat against Australia and preventing back-to-back losses after crashing out of the FIFA World Cup in the round of 16 against Norway.
Criticism of the performance against Australia was scathing in Brazil, with former World Cup winner Denílson describing it as leaving a "very bad impression" at the start of a new cycle, commentator Galvão Bueno calling it a "disgrace," and José Trajano going so far as to call for Ancelotti, who signed a new four-year deal in May, to be sacked.
The rebukes found fertile ground in a fanbase still smarting from the earliest exit from a men's World Cup since Italia 90 and confirmation that their drought between championships will now stretch to at least 28 years.
Answering questions at an event in Brisbane welcoming Brazil to Queensland, Ancelotti acknowledged the high expectations that come with leading the Seleção, where winning the World Cup has to be the aim. He also noted, however, that high expectations have followed him throughout his career.
"It's good to have criticism of the work," said Ancelotti. "Criticism has always existed and always will. It doesn't affect the idea I have for the future of this national team. Criticism has zero effect on what I think about the future."
Singling out Arthur Dias, Gabriel Bontempo, and Jair Cunha for praise, the veteran coach said that his focus remained on exposing a new generation of players to international football in these friendlies, with Tuesday's game another opportunity for this.
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17 members of the 26-player squad that Ancelotti brought Down Under possessed 10 or fewer caps, 10 of whom were uncapped. Nottingham Forest's Jair, PSV's Mauro Júnior, and Manchester City's Vitor Reis all made their international debuts in Townsville -- the latter doing so as a starter.
"The first game, the result is not so important for us," Ancelotti said. "We are looking for other things: to give space and opportunity to the young players, to the new players. So, in this aspect, it was a good game.
"We could play better, of course; we could play better. But you also have to take into consideration the quality of the opponent. Australia did really well. They defended really well. They are really compact. It's difficult to find space. All these kinds of things. The pitch didn't help us, but Australia didn't help us either.
"We are going to compete tomorrow again. Trying to play better. But it will be an opportunity for other players, other young players that didn't play in the first game, but they are going to play the next game.
"Our priority today is this. I would like to better know my players, to have a clear idea when I'm going to choose the squad for the official competitions. I don't want to [make] mistakes."