Barcelona Star Left Furious After Draining International Action

Carlo Ancelotti and Brazil suffered defeat in the final game of the CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifiers—but it wasn’t just the result against Bolivia that irritated Barcelona winger Raphinha.

The 28-year-old came off the bench and played 30 minutes as Ancelotti tried to engineer a comeback, with his rotated side trailing at the hour-mark. The comeback attempt didn’t materialize, but for Raphinha, the damage was done.

After playing 80 minutes in Brazil’s victory against Chile last Thursday, the Barcelona star was then forced to play half an hour at six degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit) and at an altitude of 4,100 meters above sea level (13,451 feet).

Following the match, a noticeably exhausted Raphinha criticized the conditions he and the rest of his teammates were forced to play in.

“The moment a team makes you play at an altitude of 4,000 meters to be able to win the game, it’s a big disadvantage for all other national teams,” Raphinha said (via SPORT.) “Then, in a tightly-contested match, the referee makes-up a penalty-kick, the reality is that just complicates our game even more.”

Bolivia’s Estadio Municipal El Alto is one of the most hostile environments in international soccer, a massive home-field advantage that helped Bolivia secure a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs.

For Raphinha, though, there wasn’t really a need for him to be on the pitch. Brazil entered it’s final two games of the CONMEBOL qualifiers having already secured a place in next summer’s World Cup.

Ancelotti’s decision to play Raphinha in a seemingly meaningless match has raised eyebrows in Barcelona. The scrutiny surrounding his involvement is based on Ancelotti opting not to call-up the Real Madrid duo of Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior for the September camp, letting them rest and recover back in Spain’s capital.

Raphinha was not only called-up by Ancelotti, he also trailed only Marquinhos for most minutes played by an outfield player over the two games. Although Brazil had already qualified for the World Cup, its fifth place finish in the qualifiers is the worst since the current format was adopted.

The former Leeds United winger will now make the long journey back to Barcelona, where Hansi Flick will be waiting to assess his status, hoping he can be ready for team’s home season debut on Sunday against Valencia.