Off the back of a good debut season at Old Trafford, Cunha was hoping to light up the World Cup finals in North America, with Brazil among the favourites for the trophy.
But the forward was benched in favour of Brentford striker Igor Thiago for the opening game, as the South American giants struggled in a 1-1 draw with African champions Morocco.
Ancelotti brought Cunha back into the starting XI for Friday night’s clash against Haiti, which did the trick, as the 27-year-old bagged a brace in an impressive 3-0 win.
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Linking up well with Vinicius Junior, the United star restored his nation’s hope of winning a record-extending sixth World Cup, yet it seems he is still not a guaranteed starter.
There is much clamour in Brazil for wonderkid striker Endrick to play, while Ancelotti revealed post-match that veteran talisman Neymar has recovered from injury and is ready to play the final group game against Scotland.
Speaking on the Rest is Football, Maguire admitted he was baffled that his United teammate did not start the Morocco match, especially after his class performance against Haiti.
Matheus Cunha scored twice as Brazil beat Haiti 3-0 (Photo: Getty)
‘We expected Brazil to beat Haiti. But to be fair, when I watched Haiti against Scotland, they played well,’ the England defender, who was controversially snubbed by Thomas Tuchel, said.
‘They were a tough team for Scotland, I felt they were the better side against Scotland for the majority of the game. But with Brazil’s quality and they know that they drew the first game…
‘He [Ancelotti] made a couple of changes. I don’t know why my mate Matheus didn’t play in the first game.
Man Utd teammates Cunha and Maguire are very good friends (Photo: Getty)
‘He’s a good player, great bloke, great guy to have around the changing room. Good personality, always smiling, joking around, but he has great ability.’
Asked whether Cunha would start against Scotland next week, Ancelotti simply and cryptically said ‘he may’, before suggesting he would tweak his team depending on the opposition.
‘I think that for this game Matheus Cunha’s position was a good one to create problems for the defence,’ the Italian said. ‘He also filtered passes very well and moved into position really well.
‘He can be an option. I don’t want a clear identity, because in the next game we may change.’
Brazil take on Scotland in Miami on Wednesday, knowing that victory will see them top Group C, unless Morocco beat Haiti and overturn their goal difference deficit.
