A former Brazil National Men’s Football Team defender Marcelo, celebrated the inclusion of Santos FC forward Neymar Dos Santos Jnr’s in the Selecao’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. (Scroll down to watch video)
34 year old Neymar was a surprise pick by Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti who had not called him since taking over the role a year ago.
Aside picking Neymar, Ancelotti made further surprising calls by not including Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos of Chelsea and FC Porto defender Thiago Silva.
Brazil are in Group C and will compete against Morocco, Scotland and Haiti at the group stage in next month’s World Cup.
Reacting to the news, Joao Pedro who has 20 goals and nine assists in 49 games this season, shared that frustrations were part of football. (Click highlighted text to read full story)
Neymar, who last featured for Brazil in October 2023, has six goals and four assists in 15 games in all competitions this season and is set to compete at the World Cup for the fourth time in his career.
In the aftermath of the announcement, Marcelo shared how happy he was about his former national teammate’s inclusion in the team.
Marcelo celebrates Neymar Jr’s call. 😁🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/jVMGNSQbAv
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 18, 2026
