Djorkaeff holds nothing back
Youri Djorkaeff did not go on RMC to play nice. On Monday night on After Foot, the former France No. 10 came out swinging, going straight at the state of modern football. And to make his point, he picked the most painful example of the lot: Brazil, dumped out in the last 16 by Norway and sent packing from a World Cup they had gone into talking themselves up.
A world champion in 1998, European champion in 2000 and now in 2026 as a FIFA ambassador, Djorkaeff has seen plenty. And clearly, what he is seeing from the stands is not impressing him.
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“It makes you want to throw up”
It is blunt. It is brutal. And there is no mistaking it. “It makes you want to throw up when you watch this Brazil side.” No soft edges, no diplomatic cover. Snake said exactly what he thought, and he was not in a forgiving mood.
Beneath the provocation is a diagnosis worth taking seriously. Djorkaeff is not moaning about results or tactics. He is talking about something far more basic: technique, first touch, the ability to do the simple things well. “There are no technical players left. When I talk about quality, I mean control.”
That is where it bites. Not because a former player is whining that the good old days were better. But because Brazil, of all countries, are supposed to be the standard-bearers for that sort of quality. Romario, Ronaldo Fenomeno, Ronaldinho: names that now hang over this team like a silent charge sheet when you look at what the Selecao served up in this tournament.
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Haaland, Endrick and the generation gap
Djorkaeff backs up his point with two specific moments. On Erling Haaland’s second goal against Brazil, he zeroes in on the space the Norwegian had to control the ball and finish. “Did you see how long he had? In the past, defenders would have been much closer.” One touch, one clean strike. Haaland did not invent anything that night. He just made the most of a defence that gave him time and room like it was handing out freebies.
Then there is Endrick. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, at 0-0, and he rolls the ball tamely in. “If that had been Ronaldo Fenomeno, he would have snapped the keeper’s back.” It is a harsh comparison, maybe even unfair on an 18-year-old, but it says plenty about the gap between what this Brazil side is producing and what history says it should be producing.
And Neymar? Djorkaeff mentions him almost with a shrug. 34 years old, five years without really playing, and he is still the one who “creates a bit of something at the end”. The verdict is damning.
A World Cup for stars and goalkeepers
Djorkaeff then widens the lens to the tournament as a whole. His verdict is clear: this 2026 World Cup is “the World Cup of stars, strikers and goalkeepers”. Nobody will remember a midfielder or a defender making the difference. Messi scores three against Algeria, Haaland knocks out Brazil, and goalkeepers are rescuing entire teams.
Football has been dragged back to the players at either end of the pitch. Everything in between, that creative strip where Brazil’s technicians used to live, looks empty. Djorkaeff says it as he sees it, with no gloves on. And it is hard to argue with all of it.
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