Coach Carlo Ancelotti called up this Monday (3) at the headquarters of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian team for the friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia, in the national team’s last two commitments in 2025.
Of the 26 called up, Ancelotti named seven players who play in Brazilian football, with emphasis on names like Vitor Roque, from Palmeiras, and Luciano Juba, from Bahia, called up for the first time by the Italian. Of the athletes who play outside the country, midfielder Fabinho, from Al Ittihad, also received his first call-up under the coach’s command.
Coming off a comeback defeat to Japan, the team will face the Senegalese on November 15th, at the Emirates Stadium, in London, at 1pm (Brasília time). Afterwards, he travels to France to face the Tunisian team on the 18th, at the Decathlon Stadium, in Lille, at 4:30 pm.
The next games should be used for Ancelotti to carry out the last tests before the start of the 2026 World Cup. After the friendlies against the African teams, Brazil will only have one more window to get together before the start of the World Cup, in March, when the coach already intends to have a group closer to what he should take to the tournament.
“I believe that, in the last few games, we changed the team a lot to carry out tests. It’s always positive, it’s an evolution that we have to make,” said Ancelotti. “In this squad, I have players like Fabinho and Luciano Juba, who I want to evaluate, and Vitor Roque, who is having a good championship”, added the coach.
The Italian coach led the Brazilian team in six matches since the beginning of June, with three wins, one draw and two defeats.
In the first months of work at the head of the team, Ancelotti carried out a series of tests to better understand the group of players, but he has also indicated that he has some preferences, such as midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães among the starters in midfield, with Marquinhos in defense and Vinicius Junior in attack.
The Italian’s first months in Brazil were also marked by Neymar not being called up. The coach cited the Santos player’s still far from ideal physical condition as a criterion for leaving him out of the team.
First edition with 48 teams —16 more than in Qatar, in 2022—, the 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches, with the teams divided into 12 groups with four teams each. The top two in each group advance, with the 32 teams now facing each other in knockout matches.
The group stage draw is scheduled for December 5th in Washington.
The competition begins on June 11, 2026, at the Azteca Stadium, in Mexico City, with the final on July 19, at the MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey.
Check the list of candidates
Goalkeepers
Bento (al Nassr)
Hugo Souza (Corinthians)
Ederson (Fenerbahce)
Defenders
Paulo Henrique (Vasco)
Alex Sandro (Flamengo)
Caio Henrique (Monaco)
Danilo (Flamengo)
Éder Militão (Real Madrid)
Fabrício Bruno (Cruzeiro)
Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal)
Luciano Juba (Bahia)
Marquinhos (PSG)
Wesley (Roma)
Midfielders
Andrey Santos (Chelsea)
Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle)
Casemiro (Manchester United)
Fabinho (Al Ittihad)
Lucas Paquetá (West Ham)
Attackers
Stephen (Chelsea)
João Pedro (Chelsea)
Luiz Henrique (Zenit)
Matheus Cunha (Manchester United)
Richarlison (Tottenham)
Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Vitor Roque (Palmeiras)
