Owner of the goal for the Brazilian team for more than a decade, Alisson Becker, 33, took over as number one of the national team in mid-2015, replacing Jefferson, from Botafogo, when Dunga was still the team’s coach.
Recognized for having excellent positioning under the goalposts and for growing in front of attackers in one-on-one duels, the Gaucho from Novo Hamburgo remained the undisputed owner of the position throughout the Tite era.
He played in five games of the 2018 World Cup, in Russia, until their elimination in the quarter-finals, against Belgium, and in four matches in the 2022, in Qatar, when Brazil fell again in the quarter-finals, against Croatia — he not only played in the last match of the group stage, in the defeat to Cameroon, when the team was already classified for the subsequent stage.
During the period, he also won the 2019 Copa América title, in an edition held in Brazil, with a 3-1 victory over Peru in the final, at Maracanã.
With Tite’s departure, Alisson ended up on the bench during the short stay of interim Ramon Menezes, but resumed the starting role with Fernando Diniz, and maintained it with Dorival Júnior.
He was also chosen by Carlo Ancelotti as the Brazilian team’s main goalkeeper. One of the most experienced in the group, he even took on the captain’s armband in the last duel of the Qualifiers, against Bolivia.
The match against the Bolivians at the altitude of El Alto, 4,150 meters above sea level — which ended in victory for the home team —, in September 2025, was the Liverpool goalkeeper’s last with the national team’s shirt.
Having to deal with a history of muscle problems in his thigh that has haunted him since the 2023/24 season, Alisson once again felt an injury to the region in a game in the second round of the Champions League group stage, against Galatasaray.
He had to stay away for around 50 days, which made him miss the Brazilian team’s last friendlies in 2025, first against South Korea and Japan, then against Senegal and Tunisia.
Bento, Hugo Souza and Ederson were the chosen replacements, without any of them being able to convince the technical committee — the first two were not included in the squad list for the World Cup, and the third, an immediate reserve in the last two World Cups, is going through a bad phase at Fenerbahçe, in Turkey, with failures, expulsions and criticism from fans. And Grêmio’s Weverton, Ancelotti’s surprising choice as third goalkeeper, has not played for the Brazilian team in over three years.
Back in Liverpool’s goal at the end of November, the goalkeeper revealed at Internacional’s academy and with a spell at Roma made the difference when he was available, with difficult saves in Champions League and English Championship matches.
However, he suffered another muscle injury to his thigh on March 18, in Liverpool’s new clash with Galatasaray, this time in the Champions League quarter-finals. He had to stay away for more than two months.
The injury caused him to miss two more Brazil games at the beginning of 2026, against France and Croatia. In these games, Ederson and Bento took turns in goal.
Alisson was once again mentioned by Liverpool coach, Dutchman Arne Slot, only this Sunday (24), in a duel in the last round of the Premier League, against Brentford.
Little used, he made just one save during the match, and was not to blame for Brentford’s equalizer, headed by German Kevin Schade.
It was the last appointment before the presentation at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis, on Wednesday (27), together with the other squad members — with the exception of Marquinhos, from PSG, and Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli, from Arsenal, who will compete in the Champions League final, on May 30, in Budapest, Hungary.
The goalkeeper will now have a few days to regain his game rhythm before the final friendly matches against Panama, on the 31st, at Maracanã, and against Egypt, on the 6th, at Huntington Bank Field, in Cleveland.
During the announcement of the squad for the World Cup, Ancelotti seemed calm in relation to his starting goalkeeper. “Alisson is coming back from injury, but he’s fine. He should play in the next game and will have time to be 100%,” said the coach.
Brazil’s World Cup debut is scheduled for June 13, in what should be Brazil’s toughest match in the group stage, against PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi’s Morocco at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, on the outskirts of New Jersey.
After the debut, Brazil still plays on June 19th, against Haiti, in Philadelphia, and ends its participation in the group stage against Scotland, on the 24th, in Miami.
