Ancelotti calls up eight debutants with Brazil in his first squad list after the 2026 World Cup

The Italian coach presents his first squad since the World Cup with 16 players who were not part of it. Three friendlies in September and October mark the beginning of a cycle with a long-term vision.

Carlo Ancelotti kept his word. On 9 September, at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, the Italian coach presented his first squad list after the 2026 World Cup with a clear message: the project toward 2030 starts now. A 26-man squad in which new faces outnumber familiar names, reflecting Carletto’s determination to build from the ground up a national team ready for the future.

Of the 26 selected, 16 did not take part in the last World Cup. Among them, eight players making their debut with the senior squad, some of them from the Brazilian domestic league. The coach himself explained his criteria clearly: «It is a very balanced squad, with players who were at the World Cup and who I believe will be important in the next cycle, and with young players with the age and quality to represent the future of the national team». His priority, he added, is «giving opportunities to the young players who could be at the next World Cup».

Continuity and renewal

Not everything is a break from the past. Vinícius Jr., Endrick, Raphinha and Marquinhos keep their places as the group’s reference points. Estêvão also returns, having missed the World Cup through injury, and João Pedro, from Chelsea, comes in after Ancelotti left him out of the tournament for technical reasons. Among the most notable absences, veterans such as Casemiro, Fabinho and Alex Sandro, whose international cycles appear to have come to an end.

The squad also looks beyond 2030: several of the young players included will be eligible for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with the aim of making them the backbone of the long-term project.

Three matches to start building

The Canarinha have three friendlies ahead of them that will serve as the first test of the new cycle. On 25 September they face Australia in Townsville; four days later, on 29 September, they meet the same opponents again in Brisbane. On 3 October, Brazil travel to Kolkata to play the first match in their history against India. Three fixtures free from the pressure of results, designed to observe, experiment and lay the foundations of what is to come.

The road to 2030 has just begun.