New era! Ancelotti names Brazil squad for 1st time since the World Cup

On Sep 9, 2026

This Wednesday, starting at 3 p.m., coach Carlo Ancelotti will kick off a major overhaul of the Brazilian National Team with an eye on the 2030 World Cup.

After the frustrating round-of-16 elimination to Norway at the World Cup, the Italian manager took responsibility for renewing the squad and will announce the call-up list for the friendlies against Australia and India.

The live broadcast of the event begins at 3 p.m. (Brasília time) on the CBF TV YouTube channel.

Focus on Midfield and the New Pieces

With a year of work under his belt and aware of the gaps shown in the last tournament, Ancelotti has decided that the absolute priority of the rebuild is midfield.

The goal is to inject fresh blood into the area, betting on players around 20 years old, according to UOL.

Youth in Midfield: Names leaked from the preliminary list include Breno Bidon and André (Corinthians), Gabriel Bomtempo (Santos), Zé Lucas (Cruzeiro), and Ângelo (Al Nassr). On the other hand, to widen the range of observations, Lucas Paquetá was left out of this initial screening.
Full-Back Overhaul: The cycle of veterans such as Danilo and the injured Alex Sandro appears to have come to an end. The coaching staff’s radar is now pointed at Wesley and Vanderson on the right, and Kaiky Bruno on the left.
Renewal in Goal: The search for younger goalkeepers could put Hugo Souza back in the plans and give Otávio (Cruzeiro) his first opportunity.
Attacking Options: Estêvão (Chelsea), left out of the World Cup because of injury, is almost certain to return. He is competing for space with Rayan, a starter in the final stretch of the last cycle, and João Pedro. Samuel Lino and Pedro (Flamengo) are also being closely monitored. Without Neymar — who has already confirmed his retirement from the national team — the experienced leadership role should fall to Raphinha, Barcelona‘s current captain.

Behind the Scenes and the “Super FIFA Window”

The selected players will have the “privilege” of an extended two full weeks of work. The Asian schedule, the only viable option found by the CBF, includes matches against Australia (September 25 and 29) and India (October 3). In November, the calendar wraps up with games against Japan and Singapore.

To arrive at these names, Ancelotti has been moving intensely since the end of July, when he returned from Canada.

The CBF is seeking greater integration with the youth ranks: the coach was at Granja Comary following the Under-15 Copa do Brasil and met with professionals from the lower categories. Director Rodrigo Caetano emphasized that the idea is to show clubs what kind of ideal player the national team wants for the future.

In addition to his observations in Brazil, Ancelotti recently made a European tour. He attended matches such as Lille vs. PSG, Tottenham vs. Newcastle, and Chelsea vs. Brighton, as well as visiting Real Madrid‘s facilities — although Rodrygo, Endrick, and Éder Militão are recovering from injuries.

Looking at these youngsters emerging on the radar, which midfielder do you believe has the most potential to establish himself as a starter in this new Ancelotti cycle?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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