Fabian Hurzeler reveals private message from Carlo Ancelotti about England at World Cup

Fabian Hurzeler revealed Carlo Ancelotti’s four-word reaction to England after watching the win over Croatia with the Brazil manager.

The former Real Madrid boss had a disappointing start to the World Cup after ‘A Seleção’ grabbed a 1-1 draw against Morocco.

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Brazil will hope to bounce back in their second group game against Haiti, as Ancelotti confirmed, ‘we have to find a solution’.

Throughout his decorated career, the Italian has worked with 43 Brazilian players and became the country’s first-ever foreign coach in May 2025.

Heading into the tournament, Brazil are inevitably labelled as one of the favourites due to their footballing giant status, winning the Jules Rimet trophy more times than any other country.

However, the five-time champions last won the World Cup in 2002 and have never gone six editions without lifting the trophy.

With the pressure on, there may be one concern for Ancelotti…

England. That’s what he told the Brighton manager, who joined talkSPORT’s White & Jordan.

After spending time at the Brazil base camp in New Jersey, Hurzeler said: “It was a great experience. To spend some hours with the coaching team with Carlo Ancelotti, with [his son and assistant] Davide, with Paul [Clement].

“And the funny thing was, we watched together – the England against Croatia game.

“So a lot of great opinions, a lot of great insights about the game, and was just a very, very interesting exchange.

“And I think it’s always important to learn also from other great personalities, to learn from other coaches.

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“And I think Ancelotti is one of the best in the world. So it was a pleasure for me.”

Ancelotti’s thoughts on England

When asked what Ancelotti said about the Three Lions, Hurzeler replied: “So he said one sentence. He said they look really dangerous.

“So I think everyone was impressed by the performance from England, especially the second half – they looked not only in particular, tactically quite well.”

The 33-year-old had an impressive season with the Seagulls, qualifying for the Conference League after finishing eighth in the Premier League last season.

He added his personal input on Tuchel’s setup: “I was really impressed by three things. The first thing was their structure, and as a team, and the connection I felt between the different parts of the team. So I think they have a really good core.

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“They have like personalities with [Jordan] Pickford in the goal. They have [John] Stones, they have [Jude] Bellingham, [Declan Rice] in the midfield, and they have [Harry] Kane – so a really strong core.

“Then they have like great creative players with [Anthony] Gordon, [Noni] Madueke, and [Bukayo] Saka and on top of that, they have key players who understand their role.

“So [Elliot] Anderson is playing for the team, Reece James, [Nico] O’Reilly, so I think the structure and the connection in the team make them look so stable.

“On top of that, they look quite sharp and fit. So for me, quite physical, really good reactions when they lost the ball, good body language. So beside all the tactical bits, besides all the performance bits.I think these two things really stand out.

“So the structure, the connection on the pitch and how physical and sharp they look there was quite impressive!”

Ahead of the game against Haiti, it’s expected that the ex-Everton boss will make changes to the Selecao starting lineup.

Ancelotti will hope there is an immediate response from his team and that they can secure the points required to ensure they advance beyond the group stage.