Chelsea’s Joao Pedro and Tottenham’s Richarlison are among the Brazil stars to suffer World Cup heartbreak as Carlo Ancelotti produced an astonishing recall for Neymar.
Ancelotti unveiled his squad on Monday evening boasting a wealth of attacking talent.
Vinicius Junior, Endrick and Raphinha are in. So are Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal, Matheus Cunha of Manchester United, Rayan of Bournemouth and Igor Thiago of Brentford.
But the big story surrounded the return of 34-year-old Neymar, Brazil’s record goalscorer now back at his first club Santos, who is destined for his fourth World Cup finals.
‘I received a lot of advice,’ said former Chelsea and Everton boss Ancelotti. ‘A lot! From journalists and singers… From all over the world.
‘The work done by the staff over the past year has been very good, well executed, with competence, personality, and competitiveness as well. I have all the possible information needed to make a squad list with fewer mistakes.’
Brazil are the most successful nation in World Cup history, they have been winners five times but not since 2002 and Ancelotti is under no illusions he has been called in to end the wait.
Neymar, Brazil’s record goalscorer now back at Santos, is destined for his fourth World Cup
‘I’m not afraid to say that we want to win the World Cup, because expectations are high,’ said the Italian. ‘We will have a squad capable of developing quality football, with collective spirit and quality.
‘It is not a perfect squad, I’m sure of that.
‘I have to say that the team that wins the World Cup will not be a perfect team – a perfect team does not exist.
‘The most resilient team can win. We want to be the most resilient team in the world.’
Neymar, who has 79 goals in 128 international appearances, has not appeared for Brazil since tearing cruciate knee ligaments against Uruguay in October 2023, soon after leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
He celebrated his recall by invading the live stream of one of his closest friends Cris Guedes at his home in Santos.
‘I understand people say European football is different, more intense,’ said Ancelotti when asked why Neymar would get the nod over Premier League strikers. ‘We also talk about how playing football here is very complicated.
‘There’s the schedule, the travel, the heat. It’s difficult to compare. Then there are the individual characteristics of the players. We feel sorry for João Pedro because, based on the season he had in Europe, he deserved to be on this list.
‘But with full awareness, respect, and competence, we chose other players. We feel very sorry for João Pedro, just like for all the others.’
The Brazil boss explained that he saw Neymar in a central attacking role.
