Dorival Júnior releases at 11am (Brasilia) this Thursday (6), at the headquarters of the CBF, in Rio, the list of 23 squads against the games against Colombia and Argentina, in March, for the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. There is expectation for the return of striker Neymar, who has not operated in Brazil since October 2023. And the tendency is for him to go through the final cut.
The coach passed Wednesday (5) met with members of his coaching staff and with CBF leaders defining the names. It’s a work that seems simple, but it’s not: you need to consult the clubs about possible injuries that may have happened on the weekend rounds around the world.
The fact that it was listed as a sock in the preconnection disclosed, according to Itatiaia, shows that it will appear on the list of 23 making room for Dorival to call strikers who were being related frequently and could lose space to the Santos star.
Another novelty should be Flamengo’s right-back Wesley, very well evaluated by the coaching staff. Danilo, also from the carioca club and captain of the Dorival team, appeared as a defender on the 52 names list, and can be called in a new function giving way to the team’s companion.
It faces Colombia on March 20, at 9:45 pm (Brasília), at Mané Garrincha Stadium, in Brasilia, for the 13th round. On March 25 the rival will be Argentina, at 21h (Brasília), at the Monumental de Nuñez Stadium, at 21h (Brasilia), in Buenos Aires, for the 14th round.
Neymar’s probable return
The Santos player suffered a serious ligament injury in the left knee in October 2023, in Brazil game in Uruguay for the qualifiers. It was his last call for the national team.
He underwent surgery and did not go back to his ex-club, Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia, who preferred to terminate the contract. The striker signed with Santos until mid -2025.
Itatiaia found that the feedback passed by the Santos coaching staff to the national team professionals was positive. On February 18, two members of the CBF were at the fish training center closely following Neymar’s work: fitness coach Celso Rezende and physiologist Guilherme Passos.
Coach Dorival Júnior, who had just returned from a period in Europe, following training and potential games summoned, was in Vila Belmiro on February 19 watching Santos X Northwest for the Paulista Championship. The Fish won 3-0 with Neymar starting. He was replaced 22 minutes into the second half for Thaciano’s entrance.
It is understood that, after a long period stopped because of severe knee injury, which was followed by a muscle problem, still in Al-Hilal, Neymar is recovering the ideal physical form. But the return of Santos professionals was that the improvement is daily and technically Neymar remains Neymar.
Brazil, after 12 rounds, occupies only fifth place in the qualifiers, with 18 points. Argentina (25), Uruguay (20), Ecuador (19) and Colombia (18) are ahead.
See the complete pre-ristal:
Goalkeepers
- Alisson – Liverpool (Ing)
- Bento – Al-Nassr (times)
- Ederson – Manchester City (Ing)
- Hugo Souza – Corinthians
- Lucas Perri – Lyon (FRA)
- Weverton – Palmeiras
Defender
- Alexsandro – small (from)
- Beraldo-Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
- Danilo – Flamengo
- Fabrício Bruno – Cruzeiro
- Greedel Maghã
- Leo Ortiz – Flamengo
- Marquinhos-Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
- Murillo – Nottingham Forest (ING)
Sides
- Dodô – Fiorentina (ITA)
- Abner – Lyon (from)
- Alex Sandro – Flamengo
- Alex Telles – Botafogo
- Douglas Santos – Zenit (RUS)
- Guilherme Arana – Atlético
- Vanderson – Monaco (FRA)
- Wesley – Flamengo
Midfielder
- Alisson – Sao Paulo
- André – Wolverhampton (ING)
- Andreas Pereira – Fulham (ING)
- Andrey Santos – Strasbourg (from)
- Bruno Guimarães – Newcastle (Ing)
- Éderson – Atalanta (ITA)
- Gerson – Flamengo
- João Gomes – Wolverhampton (Ing)
- Joelinton – Newcastle (ing)
- Lucas Moura – São Paulo
- Lucas Paquetá – West Ham (Ing)
- Matheus Cunha – Wolverhampton (Ing)
- Neymar Jr. – Santos
- Oscar – Sao Paulo
Attackers
- Antony – Real Betis (ESP)
- Bruno Henrique – Flamengo
- Endrick – Real Madrid (ESP)
- Estevão – Palmeiras
- Gabriel Martinelli – Arsenal (ING)
- Galeno-Al-Ahli (SAU)
- Igor Jesus – Botafogo
- Igor Passion – Feyenoord (HOL)
- João Pedro – Brighton (Ing)
- Luiz Henrique – Zenit (RUS)
- Raphinha – Barcelona (ESP)
- Rodrygo – Real Madrid (ESP)
- Samuel Lino – Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
- Savinho – Manchester City (ING)
- Vinicius Jr. – Real Madrid (ESP)
- Yuri Alberto – Corinthians
