Today's training was held early so that the team could travel to Ecuador today. Alexsandro (Lille) and Marquinhos were the interviewees today After that, training was held and Globo and others noted this "line-up" https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...pistas-de-primeira-escalacao-da-selecao.ghtml Vanderson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Alexsandro, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Andrey, Andreas; Estêvão; Vini Jr., Richarlison Notice, there's no keeper and there are 11 players, so I think the press is overstating it a bit when they think this is an indication of the final line-up... but it could be. Take out Danilo and you have a 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-3 depending on how they use Estêvão Depending on the show you watch you might even see the reporters reading that line-up out loud for the first time and realizing it's a 5-3-3 as they read it and trying to guess who might be removed (and occasionally coming up with some weird ideas, like one that said he could see Casemiro playing as a CD). There will be one session of training tomorrow, before the match on Thursday. Match is at 8pm Brazil time (7pm Eastern US).
According to a later article by ge, the actual line-up tried out behind closed doors was Alisson; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Alexsandro, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Gérson; Estêvão, Richarlison, Vini Jr. https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...equador-para-estreia-de-carlo-ancelotti.ghtml That midfield is much more in line with what is expected, but it's cool to know that Andrey and Andreas got some time, I hope we see them during these two games. The big surprises would be Alexsandro and Estêvão. Alexsandro mostly because Brazilians don't know him, but considering his ratings and Lille's performance, I'm not too surprised. I hope does well and becomes a regular call-up. And Estêvão is neat because I think he's a more versatile option than Antony, he can occupy the space on the right, but also be behind the forwards. Or maybe even both he and Vini behind Richarlison at times. If this line-up does well and he wants the same formation against Paraguay, I would imagine the only change would be Raphinha in Estêvão's spot. Also, a lot of pundits keep going on about how Ancelotti hasn't had time to get to know any Brazilian players and has only gone to a few matches so far, as if that is how he and his staff would learn about players. As some of the pundits who have experience as analysts have pointed out, these coaching staffs have, on demand, as much video as they want of all these players and can watch specific things (like crosses, defensive plays, passing, etc.). They don't scout by sitting in the stadium. Ancelotti's visits to stadiums are taking in the footballing culture, not about watching players. By now they probably know the Brazilian players almost as well as most any coach in Brazil besides that player's actual coach.
Coletiva de Carlo Ancelotti pré-jogo: Live now, also on some other channels like ESPN Brasil if you prefer it with commentary. One of the early questions was about the captain, and he said he will decide tomorrow after talking to the players. Probably Casemiro of course.
One aspect of the team which has changed after Ancelotti arrived is that the atmosphere is lighter and players appear more optimistic. There is one thing that I cannot see the players do, barring catastrophic results one after the other under Ancelotti. And that is Brazil having a PK shootout, the players in a circle, and Ancelotti left out, struggling to get a word in. They did this to Dorival Jr., who for all his imperfections and errors, is a winning coach who has won aplenty at the club level. This demonstrates Dorival lost the ears of the players, and only a miracle win in the last WCQ would have contributed to them being willing to listen to him again. On a different note, it'll be against the same team and in the same country that Tite debuted as Brazil NT manager that Ancelotti will have his first match as Brazil's manager. Brazil won at Ecuador 3-0 on September 1, 2016. Neymar and Gabriel Jesus (two goals). That was the first win in a streak of 9 straight wins and the opening act in an era of domination for Brazil which unfortunately did not bring us the World Cup. Let's hope Ancelotti not only emulates Tite in winning but does not emulate Tite when it comes to winning the World Cup.
In the press conference Ancelotti said he won't share the line-up with the team until tomorrow (just like the captaincy) so no more official line-up the day before because Brazilian reporters expect it. Though I'm sure we'll have one based on the training session. Most of his answers were general, not wanting to give much info on the team. But I did like his answer about Estêvão, when he pointed out he has watched him in video a lot and now he just had the opportunity to meet him and judge his character. Matches what I said earlier, that pundits overstate this idea that he doesn't know some of the players just because he hasn't seen them in person.
Usually the team takes the day off after the game, but Ancelotti and his staff set the schedule to include training today, the day after the match. Players who played yesterday aren't expected to train, just do recovery exercises. Also unusual, the training was closed this time, no 15 minutes open to the press.
Today's press conference was with Alisson: Today's training did include 15 minutes open to the press, but no signs of the starting line-up. Reporters did highlight Ancelotti chatting with Raphinha and Gérson. https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...tem-conversa-ao-pe-do-ouvido-com-gerson.ghtml
Looks like in addition to Raphinha for Estêvão, Matheus Cunha for Richarlison is the other change being tested in training: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...atheus-cunha-e-raphinha-ao-lado-de-vini.ghtml Today's press conference was with Casemiro:
Today's press conference is with Ancelotti, as is always the case pre-match: He seems fairly confident, all things considered. Paraguay have not lost in 9 matches. The last time they lost was to Costa Rica, coached by Gustavo Alfaro, in Copa América. They then hired Alfaro and he has not lost with them yet. That includes their 1x0 win over us in Paraguay and a win over Argentina. As a result they are currently in 3rd, 2 points ahead of us and can also qualify this week. Basically, if Venezuela wins (against Uruguay) neither of us can qualify yet, but if Venezuela does not win, whoever wins between Brazil and Paraguay will be qualified. If it's a tie, Paraguay will qualify if Venezuela loses.
In case you missed it: Lucas Paquetá's trial is over. However, it will take 4 to 8 weeks for the verdict to be decided: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/futebo...era-a-resposta-dentro-de-ate-dois-meses.ghtml We could have to wait until July 30 to find out what will happen to him (and after that their could still be appeals). Obviously that leaves him and his club in limbo about possible transfers and planning next season. And, I may sound crazy, but looking at our midfield, I feel like a good Paquetá is the type of player we might need. Whether we will have him again, especially before the World Cup, or we need to keep looking for that piece. And it's not just about the result of his trial, but how it will affect him.
Video above also include the training for today (only 15 minutes can be recorded). If you're watching later it starts 1 hour in. No news from the press conference about line-up. Expectation is still that Raphinha definitely and Matheus Cunha, maybe, will start.
Well, according to ge the line-up tomorrow is going to be 4-2-4: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...-gerson-e-arma-brasil-com-tres-mudancas.ghtml Alisson, Vanderson, Marquinhos, Alex, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães; Raphinha, Gabriel Martinelli, Matheus Cunha, Vini Jr. I still think we need more midfielders, not fewer, so we'll see. Also, Ancelotti isn't revealing the line-up, so maybe there's a chance this was a continuation of Sunday's tests for alternatives during the match and the previously expected line-up is still the one he will use. If it works though, I hope it's a sign we'll only use it in some circumstances (like at home, wanting a win and against a defensive team, but not away from home or against a stronger team).
The corruption is absurd and now it's not even hidden anymore (not like it was before remember Mario Fernandes). But Ancelloti letting Gerson know that he either can take the offer CBF puts in front of him or go to Russia for money and not be called up again is baffling to me. It's not bigger news because Globo and CBF are 1 entity. Luis Henrique has been our best forward, best South American player in 2024, doesn't kiss the ring and goes to Russia and gets taken out of the Brazil squad? If you make a squad that doesn't include top Euro leagues and the Brasileirao players, they would be easily in first place in the qualifiers. How do we know this? They are behind a Paraguay national squad with almost no players in the top Euro leagues and just beat Uruguay with a goal from Mathias Gallarza!!! He can't even get a slot in the bench in his team Vasco. This national team isn't for the Brasileiro, it's for the Western block nations. It's the Brazil (with a Z) national team. But not all is lost... 1.2 billion dollars from jumpman means Brazil (with a Z) will win the WC in the worst form possible. Lots of questionable calls, one PK per match, lots of yellows for the opposition while not enough yellows (even when deserved) to the Brazil (with a Z) NT. Nike will get their ending, Brazil (with a Z) winning the WC in the USA with their jumpman Michael Jordan color kits. Ancelloti being the conquering Hero and Vini Jr winning best player in the world. The sad part is, we likely could win with our players, if we just played our best.
Paraguay is most likely not going to win the World Cup, but they are the hottest team in CONMEBOL at the moment at least in terms of their 9-match unbeaten streak. They defeated all three CONMEBOL World Cup winners during this WCQ; since CONMEBOL adopted the every team vs. every team, home & away format starting with 1998's WCQ, this had never happened previously. The expansion to a 48-team tournament will benefit other CONMEBOL teams, but with the futebol Paraguay has been playing, they definitely deserve a spot next year. If therefore Brazil defeats Paraguay, it'll be significant - Brazil will avenge that 1-0 in Asunción last September, Brazil's overall performance in the 2026 WCQ tournament will improve, and it'll be a morale builder. It'd be even better if Brazil wins tonight with a clean sheet.
Match thread is up. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/eliminatÓrias-copa-2026-r16-brasil-x-paraguai-5-10-2025.2135447/
You are voicing a sentiment that many fans have echoed since the 2022 World Cup. However, I doubt a repeat of that will happen in 2026. The Argies got soft pens in almost every match in 2022 because of the Messi factor (at the very least, due to subconscious refereeing bias/narrative pressure/FIFA’s promotion of a feel-good story). No such sentiments exist this time around, certainly not for Brazil. Vini Jr does not even get calls in La Liga. Even CR7 (who has less global sympathy than Messi) and Portugal will not get any preferential treatment. So, Brazil can't rely on favorable calls or a storyline to carry them. Brazil needs to win like it did in 1994, with hard football, epitomizing resilience, defensive maturity, and clinical attacking.
Notes for September, before I forget: First we host Chile, probably at the Maracanã, then we go to El Alto to face Bolivia, in a match that might give Bolivia a shot at the playoff spot, because Venezuela has a really tough final two matches and Bolivia can catch them. Vini suspended for the first match (vs. Chile). Bremer and Militão speculated to be back for their clubs in the Club World Cup, but definitely by the beginning of the European season. Gabriel also back (not a long-term injury), so with Alex playing well, we have 5 great central defenders if these guys come back strong. And if one of them doesn't, which is possible after those ACL injuries, at least we have 4 great defenders. Hopefully an even stronger call-up and some evolution up front, as well as in managing the team (subbing more pro-actively). Obviously continuing the defensive strength - though these games aren't exactly the best tests. No Richarlison, maybe Pedro and Endrick as the 9s and, as I always say, call up 26 players, not 23... but let's see. At least we're in. And, as always, we will be "cabeça de chave".
Ancelotti has done what we wanted him to do - to get Brazil to improve, and as I wrote in the match thread, this was the first time during 2026 WCQ that Brazil went two straight matches without being scored on. We had plenty of solid full-backs all this time; we needed a stronger midfield to complement them. Defense wins championships, and Dunga I, Tite I, and Tite II all featured very solid defenses, with Brazil being scored on infrequently. Now that Brazil has made it to the 2026 World Cup, Ancelotti will do as you said - that would amount to conducting tests. Brazil can afford to do so now, all the more as the opponent will be Chile. They will put up a fight, but they are out of the World Cup and will simply play for pride. Looking beyond Chile and Bolivia, Brazil is eyeing October and November FIFA dates, but UEFA teams are unlikely to be unavailable until March 2026. As such, it may be that Brazil faces teams from Africa and Asia; in the former, Morroco, Senegal, Egypt, and Algeria are solid, while in the latter, as per an agreement signed during Ednaldo's administration, Japan is to be an opponent. The match may happen in Japan, which leads CBF to seek a second Asian opponent; Korea Republic and Australia are candidates.
Japan is a very strong opponent. Remember they held us to 1x0 in a friendly leading up to the World Cup, while we easily beat Korea, which is solid competition for them in AFC, 5x1 (and 4x1 during the Cup). Morocco would be a great test. Besides being top 4 in the World Cup, they beat us in Ramon's first match as interim coach. And Senegal beat him 4x2 (and beat England today 3x1).
Current plans for the upcoming matches, adding to what @Century's Best said above: https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/fute...-bases-nos-eua-apos-garantir-vaga-na-copa.htm For October, CBF is planning friendlies against Asian teams because they have an invite from Japan. November will be for friendlies against African teams, in Europe. March will hopefully be against Europeans (B-tier teams according to the article). pre-World Cup, in June, potential friendlies (or just one, depending on the World Cup schedule) against top tier European teams. That means the match against Chile will be the last one at home. EDIT: Curiously the ge article that's out now says the March friendlies will be against top European teams and the pre-World Cup ones will be against tier-B Europeans, which makes more sense to me https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...s-e-mira-duelos-contra-europeus-em-2026.ghtml
Moscardo is in PSG's Club World Cup squad. Hard to imagine him getting a lot of playing time in CL next season if they keep him (as opposed to loaning him again), but would be nice to see him get minutes in CWC and, if he does stay with them, in Ligue 1 and Cup matches. I feel like he is the direct replacement for Casemiro, eventually, but at 19 (20 by the time the World Cup starts), chances are it's too early for him. Also, both Bremer and Militão are confirmed in their respective squads, as was rumored, but we'll see if they are actually ready to play.