The call-up of the Brazilian team for the friendlies against France and Croatia, respectively, on March 26th and 31st, presented eight new features in the range of options analyzed by Carlo Ancelotti.
Almost all positions had the addition of athletes who had not yet been called up by the Italian. The coach’s planning for the last call-up before the final list for the World Cup predicted that, at this moment, the technical committee would be working with its closed squad. Some injuries, however, made the Brazilian team command change plans.
“The option for this list depended a lot on injuries. It is a list created with players who are in good physical condition. We had important injuries, such as those of Militão, Bruno Guimarães, Estêvão, Rodrygo”, said the coach.
Of the 26 athletes, the coach chose eight who will be new to his work at the head of the national team: defenders Bremer (Juventus), Ibañez (Al Ahli) and Léo Pereira (Flamengo), midfielders Danilo (Botafogo) and Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray) and attackers Endrick (Lyon), Rayan (Bournemouth) and Igor Thiago (Brentford).
According to the coach, this is the “last opportunity to meet them and make a final list with a clearer idea”.
Still according to the commander, more than analyzing the characteristics of each one as a player, the objective at this moment is to see how they behave as part of the selection group.
“When we call new players it’s not because we want to see how they perform on the field, we already know that. We want to know how they fit into our environment, their character, in all new players that’s what we’re going to see. We’re evaluating everyone,” he said.
The final squad for the World Cup is scheduled for May 18.
See the list of those called up
Goalkeepers
Alisson (Liverpool), 33
Bento (Al-Nassr),
Ederson (Fenerbahçe), 32
Defenders
Alex Sandro (Flamengo), 35
Bremer (Juventus), 28
Danilo (Flamengo), 34
Douglas Santos (Zenit), 31
Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), 28
Ibañez (Al-Ahly), 27
Léo Pereira (Flamengo), 30
Marquinhos (PSG), 35
Wesley (Roma), 22
Midfielders
Andrey Santos (Chelsea), 21
Casemiro (Manchester United), 34
Danilo (Botafogo), 24
Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), 32
Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray), 26
Attackers
Endrick (Lyon), 19
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), 24
Igor Thiago (Brentford), 24
Luiz Henriquie (Zenit), 25
Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), 26
Raphinha (Barcelona), 28
Rayan (Bournemouth), 19
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid), 25
João Pedro (Chelsea), 24
