FIFA has rules so that a delegation can cut and replace a player before or during the World Cup. And so the clock ticks against Neymar and coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The Santos player was diagnosed with a grade 2 calf injury, which means there was a partial rupture of the muscle fibers, not just edema. The CBF estimates that he will be able to return to training in two to three weeks. Experts interviewed by the report estimate a longer period.
According to the regulations, until Monday (1st) countries can freely exchange an athlete from their squad list for medical reasons. From Tuesday (2), however, the rule becomes stricter.
This is because, on Tuesday, FIFA will release the official list with all players from all 48 teams. Until then, all lists announced by countries do not have the entity’s final approval. “National teams can announce their lists at any time, but they will only be considered official after confirmation from FIFA on June 2,” says the entity in its regulations.
Once the call-ups are official, exchanges can only occur if there is injury or illness. For a delegation to be able to replace an athlete, it will be necessary to send medical documents describing the player’s health problem. The reports will be evaluated by the FIFA Medical Committee, which will or will not approve the exchange.
“The medical committee will define whether the injury or illness is serious enough to prevent the player from participating in the 2026 World Cup,” says article 24 of the tournament.
This stricter rule is valid up to 24 hours before the country’s debut in the World Cup. In the case of Brazil, this deadline is June 12th, one day before the game against Morocco.
If the entity accepts the arguments for the cut, the substitute player must receive the shirt number of the one who was cut.
GOALKEEPER
The goalkeeper position is an exception. FIFA requires that all countries have three squad members and, therefore, the team can replace one archer with another at any time during the World Cup, as long as it is due to proven injury or illness.
In this case, the new goalkeeper would wear shirt 27, for example, and not the one worn by the cut player.
But coaches cannot call up just any player to replace the one who was cut. It is mandatory that the name comes out of the pre-list that each of them submitted before the definition of the 26. In other words, in the case of Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti will have to call up someone from this list.
