Ancelotti tests Raphinha as a central striker in Brazil's second friendly in Brisbane

Carlo Ancelotti has no plans to rest Raphinha during Brazil's tour of the Antipodes. The Barcelona attacker was the only forward to stay on the pitch for the entire 1-1 draw against Australia last Friday, and for the second meeting with the same opponent on Tuesday in Brisbane, the Italian coach is considering deploying him as the attacking reference instead of Endrick. It is a decision that underlines the importance the new Brazil boss gives to the Catalan club's star player.

• Raphinha completed 90 minutes in the first friendly against Australia and looks set to keep his place in Brisbane.
• Ancelotti is testing him as a central striker, the role in which Hansi Flick has turned him into a lethal weapon this season.
• Vinicius and Endrick were taken off in the 65th minute and Estevao in the 76th, while Raphinha stayed on until the end.
• The Italian took over the Brazil bench after ending his second spell at Real Madrid and has a contract until 2030.
• Barcelona are watching with concern as their top scorer builds up minutes before a demanding month of fixtures.

Ancelotti's experiment with Raphinha as the number nine in Brisbane

After the draw in Townsville, Ancelotti is moving pieces in search of a reaction. The drills carried out for Tuesday's match in Australia place the Barcelona player as the spearhead of the attack, pushing him further forward from the playmaking role he occupied in the first game. Endrick, who was among those substituted just after the hour mark, would make way for a Raphinha who is enjoying the best spell of his career in that exact position.

The Italian coach's idea is not original: it mirrors the plan that Hansi Flick has turned into routine at Barcelona since the start of the campaign. Operating as a central striker, the Brazilian has scored 14 goals in eight official matches for the club, numbers that explain why his national team coach wants to exploit the same tactic. Ancelotti needs quick solutions for a Brazil side that left doubts in its opening game and still carries the sting of a World Cup round-of-16 exit at the hands of Norway.

Why Raphinha gets no rest: his role in the new Brazil project

Ancelotti arrived at the seleçao with a mission to revive a damaged project. Far from treating the trip to Oceania as a formality, the Italian is using it as a key phase to establish patterns of play. In that context, Raphinha has become the team's lighthouse. According to Brazilian media reports, the Barcelona man, Vinicius and Bruno Guimaraes would be the only players to retain a starting spot from Friday's lineup.

The workload numbers are telling. While Vinicius and Endrick left the pitch in the 65th minute and Estevao followed in the 76th, Raphinha remained on the field until the final whistle. The bet paid off: his corner kick led to Rayan's 85th-minute goal that rescued the draw. It was another reminder that, for Ancelotti, the Barcelona forward is irreplaceable even in a low-stakes friendly.

Australia, a real test despite the friendly label

The second clash against the Socceroos is not a simple warm-up for Ancelotti. After the World Cup disappointment and a grey debut ending in a draw, the Italian is demanding a win that changes the mood and proves the squad has absorbed his ideas. Australia proved a stubborn opponent in the first game and will offer no easy ride in Brisbane, where the heat and a motivated home side add extra difficulty.

The margin for error has narrowed for the new head coach. Losing to Norway in the World Cup knockout stages sparked a wave of criticism, and the seleçao cannot afford a winless tour. That is why Ancelotti is not considering wholesale rotation: he prefers to stick with his trusted core, with Raphinha leading the line, and save rest for the third friendly of the trip on Saturday, October 3 in Kolkata against India.

Barcelona's concern over the workload of their star forward

Ancelotti's decision to squeeze every minute out of Raphinha has not gone down well inside Barcelona. The Brazilian arrives in red-hot form, with a staggering scoring rate, but also with a accumulation of minutes that worries the club ahead of a brutal October. The Catalan side's schedule includes demanding meetings with Getafe, Galatasaray, Betis, PSG and Real Madrid, a stretch where every point will carry enormous weight.

The concern grows because of how close those fixtures are and because of the intercontinental travel piling up in the player's legs. Playing two full matches in Australia, with the flights and jet lag involved, could take a toll just as Barcelona need their best player the most. Flick, who has turned him into a prolific centre-forward, expects to have him back at full strength for the first league match after the break.

Next stop: Kolkata and the appeal to Indian fans

After the Brisbane clash, Brazil's tour will stop in India to face the local national team on Saturday, October 3 at 4:00 pm Spanish time. Raphinha is expected to be the main draw for fans packing the Kolkata stadium. The friendly series, far from being a mere collection of matches, allows Brazil to boost its brand in emerging markets while Ancelotti fine-tunes his setup ahead of official commitments.