Did you hear? On May 18, Carlo Ancelotti announced the 26 players who will represent Brazil at the World Cup:
- Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Fenerbahçe), Weverton (Grêmio).
- Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Bad Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Ibañez (Al-Ahli), Léo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (PSG), Wesley (Roma).
- Midfielders: Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Good Danilo (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), Lucas Paquetá (Flamengo).
- Forwards: Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Neymar (Santos), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth) e Vini Jr. (Real Madrid).
There are plenty of questions one could raise. For instance, why are there so many Flamengo players? If Bad Danilo’s justification for inclusion is veteran presence and some shred of versatility rather than his actual ability, surely it would be better to select Thiago Silva, still a much better defender, as the veteran presence and trust that any one of the three other players in the squad with experience at right-back could do at least as good a job as a washed-up almost-35-year-old? Given that several other players (Bento, João Pedro, Andrey Santos) were cut at the last minute seemingly due to poor club form coupled with a lack of Seleção performance, does Gabriel Martinelli’s goal against Croatia in March make up for the fact that he’s lost his starting spot for Arsenal and the only top-flight club side he’s scored against in 2026 was from Kazakhstan? Surely, surely, we can squeeze a sixth midfielder into the squad, you know, just in case playing four up top ends up leaving us colossally outmatched in midfield in a crucial game? Do we really want to rely on Fabinho to cover for Casemiro when he inevitably gets suspended for a knockout game? Why didn’t the technical staff use my absolutely flawless wishlist for reference?
But forget all those questions, because there’s only one thing on everybody’s lips. That’s right, ladies and gents. NEYMAR IS BACK!
Or, uh, well.
Thus far, Neymar’s selection has gone about as badly as it could have. The cheers and chants of “Neymar, Neymar” when his name was announced were a tad embarrassing, whether they were from journalists or just fans in attendance. What was reported ahead of the callup as a minor edema in his calf soon got upgraded to a grade 2 tear with a minimum recovery time of two to three weeks. Not only did this spark a fresh controversy over whether Santos had hidden the nature of his injury in order to help secure his selection, it means that, having already not played for the Seleção since November 2023, Neymar will miss both of Brazil’s preparatory friendlies, all of the training time in between, and may not be available for the World Cup opener against Morocco. Amidst all this, he was the very last player to report to training camp, showing up in his unbelievably expensive custom helicopter, and with the blessing of his teammates has been given the number 10 shirt.
Frankly, the whole saga has made me deeply pessimistic. The Neymar of old was absolutely deserving of the number 10 shirt, and absolutely worth keeping in the team even if it wouldn’t be clear when and if he’d be fit enough to play. That is the Neymar all those cheering fans and journalists, and his fellow players, remember and hope to see again. But at this point, I see that Neymar as almost the object of a cult that can’t accept that that player may no longer exist. They attribute the man powers he no longer has. They allow him indulgences, like the helicopter thing, that were already excessive when he was one of the best players in the world. They refuse to see that even if Neymar heals with no further setbacks and is listed as fit for the Morocco game, it’s vanishingly unlikely that, having not played for Brazil in years, having never trained under Ancelotti before the World Cup itself, and playing cautiously given the risk of hurting his failing body yet again, he will be able to contribute anything at all—not even anything of note. I think it’s very possible that he doesn’t even see the field for Brazil at any point this summer. Perhaps at most he gets a few courtesy minutes at the end of what will hopefully be a blowout win over Haiti, and he may well not be fit enough even for that.
And, yes, I know I just advocated for his inclusion in my last column, and the reasons I gave there are part of why, even now, I’d wait a bit before cutting him. We can cut injured players until June 12, 24 hours before the Morocco game, and if we’ve committed this far, we might as well wait a little longer. Whoever we brought in to replace Neymar would also be a fringe element of the squad, and while there are a couple of players I might like to see brought in, it’s doubtful they could have any more impact on Brazil than could Neymar. Plus, perhaps someone else might have to be cut and thus open the door for the likes of Éderson or João Pedro.
And, I dunno, maybe I’ve gotten a little of the cult Kool-Aid on me. Anyways, we play Panama at the Maracanã tomorrow before setting off for the US, where we play one more preparatory friendly next Saturday against Egypt. For those interested, Brazil will be based in northern New Jersey, training at the NY Red Bulls training facility in Morristown. Given I haven’t managed to get tickets to any of their World Cup games yet (i.e. I’m not willing to pay nine-hundred-plus dollars for the privilege), I may try and cheer them on in training instead.
Brazil vs. Panama
Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, May 31, 2026
Kickoff: 5:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM BRT / 11:30 PM GMT
US TV/Streaming: None
Starting XI: Alisson; Wesley, Bremer, Léo Pereira, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães; Matheus Cunha, Raphinha, Vini Junior, Luiz Henrique.
Unavailable: Neymar, Gabriel Magalhães, Gabriel Martinelli, Marquinhos. (The former is injured; the latter three just played in the Champions League final.)
Prediction: Panama have sprung the occasional surprise in CONCACAF, and our last two friendlies against them ended in scores of 1-1 and 2-0, so another 2-0 win seems like a safe prediction, but frankly, I hope we’re starting the World Cup push with enough pizzazz to at least score three or four goals in this one.
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