Carlo Ancelotti has named his last Brazil squad of 2026. The coach read out 26 names at the Brazilian federation’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, and the list has a young look to it. Vinicius Junior and Endrick are in. Alisson Becker and Neymar are not.
Two games in Singapore
Brazil play two friendlies in November, and both are at the National Stadium in Singapore. They face Japan on 14 November and the hosts, Singapore, three days later on 17 November. The players go back to their clubs after the second game.
The Real Madrid and Barcelona stars
Real Madrid send two forwards. Vinicius is in the attack again, and so is Endrick. Raphinha is the only Barcelona player in the group.
The Premier League has the biggest share of the squad. Arsenal have two players in it, Gabriel Magalhães and Bruno Guimarães. Manchester City also have two, defender Vitor Reis and forward Allan. Chelsea winger Estêvão keeps his place even though he has not played much for his club this season.
Andrey Santos of Manchester United, João Gomes of Aston Villa, Jair Cunha of Nottingham Forest and Rayan of Bournemouth complete the English group.
No Alisson, no Neymar
Bento of Al Nassr and Lucas Perri of Torino lead the goalkeepers, with Pedro Morisco of Coritiba as the third. That means no place for Alisson Becker this time. Neymar is missing from the list too.
There is also nobody from Flamengo or Palmeiras. Both clubs are fighting for the Brazilian league title, and the federation left their players alone so the title race is not hit by the trip to Asia.
The full squad
Goalkeepers: Bento (Al Nassr), Lucas Perri (Torino), Pedro Morisco (Coritiba).
Defenders: Arthur Dias (Athletico Paranaense), Carlos Augusto (Inter), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Jair Cunha (Nottingham Forest), Jonathan Jesus (Cruzeiro), Vanderson (Monaco), Vitor Reis (Manchester City), Wesley (Roma).
Midfielders: André (Corinthians), Andrey Santos (Manchester United), Bruno Guimarães (Arsenal), Danilo (Botafogo), Bontempo (Santos), João Gomes (Aston Villa), Marlon Gomes (Shakhtar Donetsk).
Forwards: Alisson Santana (Shakhtar Donetsk), Allan (Manchester City), Endrick (Real Madrid), Estêvão (Chelsea), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).
Our take
These are friendlies at the end of a long year, and Ancelotti is using them to look at new faces. Leaving out Alisson probably does not mean he has lost his place. With a goalkeeper of his level, there is little left to learn from two games in Singapore.
The one to watch is Estêvão. He needs minutes, and a big game against Japan could give him the lift he is not getting at Chelsea right now.
Who should start up front for Brazil against Japan? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Rayan by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
