Ancelotti invests in new players in squad for Qualifiers
Italian coach calls up ten debutants and explains physical criteria for composing the squad already qualified for the World Cup.
247 - The Brazilian men's national football team will take to the field in the last two games of the South American Qualifiers already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but with a squad full of new faces. Coach Carlo Ancelotti announced this Monday (25), at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, the list of 25 players called up, which includes ten debutants. The information was released by Agency Brazil.
Among the new names are midfielders Lucas Paquetá (West Ham) and Joelinton (Newcastle), and forwards João Pedro (Chelsea), Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro), and Luiz Henrique (Zenit). Kaio, the top scorer in the Brazilian Championship with 15 goals, is one of four players called up who play in the Brazilian league, along with goalkeeper Hugo Souza (Corinthians), left-back Alex Sandro (Flamengo), and defender Fabrício Bruno (Cruzeiro).
Ancelotti's justification and Neymar's absence
During the press conference, Ancelotti answered journalists' questions in Portuguese and explained the selection criteria. "I want to get to know new players who can help the national team, both technically and personally. The players I'm not calling up performed very well in the first selection," he said.
The coach also made a point of praising Lucas Paquetá: "I want to take this opportunity to get to know him: he has a lot of quality and will be very important for Brazil."
Regarding Neymar's absence, the coach was emphatic: “Neymar had a physical problem last week. I don't need to test him, everyone knows Neymar very well, but he has to arrive in good physical condition to do his best in the World Cup. A very important criterion is the physical aspect: [the player] has to be at 100% of his physical condition to be called up.”
Games at the Maracanã and at high altitude in Bolivia.
Brazil will face Chile on September 4th, at 21:30 pm (Brasilia time), at Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro. Ticket sales started this Monday (25), at 18 pm, through the website. Digital Box Office, with mandatory facial biometric registration.
The final qualifying match will be on September 9th, against Bolivia, in La Paz, at 20:30 PM.
Planning up to the 2026 World Cup
Of the 25 current players, 12 were retained from Ancelotti's first squad, including Marquinhos (PSG), Casemiro (Manchester United), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), and Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal). The coach stated that he intends to evaluate up to 52 players before defining the final group for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
“We will have 10 months ahead of us to prepare a definitive list. The idea is to have a fixed group of 15 or 16 players and try to recruit the others,” he explained.
After the qualifiers, the national team will play friendly matches in October, November, and December, with opponents and dates yet to be confirmed by the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).
Squad
goalkeepersAlisson (Liverpool), Bento (Al-Nassr), Hugo Souza (Corinthians)
DefendersAlexsandro (Lille), Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Caio Henrique (Monaco), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Fabrício Bruno (Cruzeiro), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Marquinhos (PSG), Vanderson (Monaco), Wesley (Roma)
midfieldersAndrey Santos (Chelsea), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Joelinton (Newcastle), Lucas Paquetá (West Ham)
StrikersEstêvão (Chelsea), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), João Pedro (Chelsea), Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Raphinha (Barcelona), Richarlison (Tottenham)
