Aldair Slams Brazil's World Cup Opener and Backs Neymar Return
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has wasted no time in generating talking points: shock results, goal-laden mismatches and high-profile stutters from traditional powers have defined the opening round of the expanded 48-team tournament. Few early stumbles have drawn more attention than Brazil's underwhelming display against Morocco, a result that has set pulses racing back home and prompted searching questions about Carlo Ancelotti's Seleção. To make sense of it all, Flashscore sat down with Aldair Nascimento dos Santos - World Cup winner, defensive icon, and one of the most respected voices in Brazilian football.
Aldair, who lifted the trophy in the United States in 1994 and went on to become a club legend at Roma, did not come to offer diplomatic reassurances. The conversation ranged widely: from tactical concerns about Brazil's group-stage performance to the wisdom of recalling Neymar, from the new format's growing pains to Gasperini's Roma and a remarkable anecdote involving Francesco Totti and Ronaldo. Much like how fans of other sports - from those tracking rugby odds to basketball devotees - have come to expect that major international tournaments rarely run to script, this World Cup has already proved that certainties are scarce on the grandest of stages.
A Poor Start: Aldair's Verdict on Brazil Against Morocco
Aldair was unsparing in his assessment of Brazil's opening match. "I watched the game. So many misplaced passes, Brazil didn't play well at all. I thought they looked really, really poor! I expect much more, just like everyone else here back home!" The directness is characteristic of a man who spent years marshalling defences and reading the game at the highest level.
On Ancelotti's contribution, Aldair was similarly measured: "If we're talking about this match, we didn't see his hand in it. In the friendlies, they played a bit better, but in this World Cup opener, we really saw too little of his work. Perhaps he only got it right with the substitutions. But other than that, very little was on display." For a coach of Ancelotti's pedigree, those are hard words - but they reflect a genuine anxiety felt across Brazil after a performance that fell well short of expectations for a five-time world champion.
When asked who could drag the team forward in such a difficult moment, Aldair pointed to two names: "There's Raphinha, although he hasn't been playing well for the national team for a while. Vinicius fared a bit better in one game." He added, with a sense of anticipation that many Brazilian supporters will recognise: "Then, of course, there is always the hope that Neymar will take on this responsibility."
The Neymar Question and the New 48-Team Reality
Neymar's recall has been a topic of fierce debate in Brazil for months. Aldair is firmly in the camp that supports the decision. "I think it's the right call because he's a very different player from the rest, a cut above the average. It's right that Ancelotti brought him along and is waiting for him so that he can get back to 100% fitness. Calling him up wasn't a mistake, absolutely not." The logic is straightforward: in a group stage that now includes 48 nations, the margins between the top sides may be tight - and an in-form Neymar, however fragile his recent injury record, remains a game-changer unlike anyone else in the Seleção squad.
On the expanded format itself, Aldair offered a nuanced take. He acknowledged the genuine appeal of bringing more nations into the fold - "It gives many other countries the chance to play in a World Cup, and that's a beautiful thing" - while being clear-eyed about the structural implications. "You see huge gulfs in class: on one hand, you have shocks like Spain drawing against a team like Cape Verde, who are participating for the first time in their history. On the other, there are national teams capitalising on these disparities in level, like Germany putting seven past Curacao." His conclusion was sharp: it will ultimately be the head-to-head clashes between the heavyweights, and the goal differences accumulated against the smaller sides, that decide who advances with the top two spots.
World Cup Memories, Roma's Scudetto Hopes and the Totti-Ronaldo Debate
Three World Cup appearances give Aldair a perspective few can match. He is generous about the entire experience - "for a footballer, just taking part in a World Cup is always wonderful" - and recalls Italia '90 with genuine warmth despite never leaving the bench. But USA '94 holds a special place: "I remember almost everything that happened on the pitch." He also noted, with the eye of someone who has seen the game evolve significantly, that today's players have access to far more information about the host nations and the wider tournament environment than his generation ever did.
A documentary about his life, shot over the course of a year across Rome, Dubai and Brazil, has recently been released in Italy - a project born from conversations with three Roman friends who are avid Giallorossi supporters. "Even though I'm a very shy person, which made it a bit difficult, we managed to create something nice and show the other side of me that the fans and the public didn't know," he said. His bond with Roma runs almost inexplicably deep. "It almost feels like I was born in footballing terms at Roma," he reflected, "for them, it's as if I had started my career there as a youngster and spent my entire playing days at that club."
On the subject of Roma's current incarnation under Gian Piero Gasperini, Aldair was cautiously optimistic. The Italian tactician, known for his intense, attacking systems, has impressed the Brazilian icon: "Gasperini's idea of football is really good. The first year in Rome isn't easy for anyone, but he managed to do very well, a truly spectacular season." The caveat, however, is clear - "To take the next step, the club needs to provide more and bring in a few more players. If Roma gets the players he's asking for, they will definitely be able to stay up there with the top sides fighting for the Scudetto." Whether the club's ownership will back the manager in the transfer market remains the key variable.
Perhaps the most captivating moment of the conversation came when Aldair was pressed on whether Francesco Totti or Ronaldo - Il Fenomeno - was the better player. His answer was as elegant as it was revealing: "They are two very different players. Ronaldo was more of a one-on-one striker, more explosive. Francesco was brilliant inside the box, had a great eye for a pass, and had just as much of an eye for goal as Ronaldo. It's hard to say who was the best: the ideal scenario would have been to have them both on the same team." He then shared a gem of an anecdote: on returning to Trigoria after the '94 triumph, with the world buzzing about Brazil's number 9, his Roma teammates pointed to a teenage Totti and said, 'Look, we've got a Ronaldo here too.' As Aldair put it: "Then Francesco showed everyone what he was capable of, and I was genuinely very happy about that."
On Benfica, the club where his European journey began, Aldair admitted he follows them less closely these days, though José Mourinho's arrival in the dugout has drawn him back to their matches more frequently. His assessment is frank: "In recent years, Benfica haven't done very well; they are often in crisis and can't seem to perform at their true level in Europe." He sees promise in individual players but feels the club is still some way short of consistent major results.
With Brazil needing to find their rhythm quickly in a condensed and unpredictable tournament, and Gasperini's Roma waiting on transfer market movement to make a genuine title challenge, the weeks ahead will tell us much. In the meantime, audiences in Italy can explore a side of Aldair that football never quite revealed - the man behind the warrior, captured on film for the first time.
