Brazil’s National Men’s Football Team head coach Carlo Ancelotti made a surprise pick for his squad that will compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup by including veteran forward Neymar Dos Santos Jnr.
The former FC Barcelona and PSG player’s inclusion came as the biggest surprise following the squad announcement ahead of the June 2 deadline set by FIFA. (Scroll down to view squad)
This marks the first call up for Neymar since October 2023 after battling with several injuries in recent years and he looked set to miss out on a World Cup.
However, his recent uptick in form got him to back in the fold at the expense of Chelsea’s Joao Pedro who has 20 goals and nine assists in 49 games in all competitions and Carlo Ancelotti spoke about his decision to pick Neymar.
“We spent the entire year analyzing Neymar. We realized that in this last period he had continuity and was in good physical condition.”
“Neymar will be an important player for us at the World Cup” Ancelotti said.
Neymar, who plays for Santos in the Brazilian top flight, has six goals and four assists in 15 games in all competitions at the time of writing.
Brazil are in Group C alongside Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
