This coming Monday, May 18, at 5:45 PM Brasília time (4:45 PM Eastern), Carlo Ancelotti will call up the 26 players who will represent Brazil at this summer’s World Cup in North America.

Below, per Globo, is the 55-man list from which he will select his final squad. The only surprises in here are pretty minor, I’d say, and anyone whose inclusion raises some eyebrows probably doesn’t have much of a chance of making the final squad anyway: Lucas Beraldo missing out to the likes of Natan is a bit of a curveball, Gabriel Jesus has returned to the broader picture out of absolutely nowhere, and Thiago Silva’s inclusion is actually a pleasant development.

Below the list, you’ll find my own 26-man World Cup squad I’d call up out of these 55 players.

Goalkeepers

  • Alisson (Liverpool)
  • Bento (Al-Nassr)
  • Ederson (Fenerbahçe)
  • Hugo Souza (Corinthians)
  • John (Nottingham Forest)
  • Weverton (Grêmio)

Defenders

  • Alex Sandro (Flamengo)
  • Alexsandro Ribeiro (Lille)
  • Bremer (Juventus)
  • Carlos Augusto (Inter de Milão)
  • (Bad) Danilo (Flamengo)
  • Douglas Santos (Zenit)
  • Fabricio Bruno (Cruzeiro)
  • Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal)
  • Ibañez (Al-Ahli)
  • Kaiki Bruno (Cruzeiro)
  • Leo Ortiz (Flamengo)
  • Leo Pereira (Flamengo)
  • Luciano Juba (Bahia)
  • Marquinhos (PSG)
  • Natan (Betis)
  • Paulo Henrique (Vasco)
  • Thiago Silva (Porto)
  • Vitinho (Botafogo)
  • Vitor Reis (Girona)
  • Wesley (Roma)

Midfielders

  • Andreas Pereira (Palmeiras)
  • Andrey Santos (Chelsea)
  • Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle)
  • Casemiro (Manchester United)
  • (Good) Danilo (Botafogo)
  • Ederson (Atalanta)
  • Fabinho (Al-Ittihad)
  • Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray)
  • Gerson (Cruzeiro)
  • João Gomes (Wolverhampton)
  • Lucas Paquetá (Flamengo)
  • Matheus Pereira (Cruzeiro)

Forwards

  • Antony (Betis)
  • Endrick (Lyon)
  • Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
  • Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
  • Igor Jesus (Nottingham Forest)
  • Igor Thiago (Brentford)
  • João Pedro (Chelsea)
  • Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro)
  • Luiz Henrique (Zenit)
  • Matheus Cunha (Manchester United)
  • Neymar (Santos)
  • Pedro (Flamengo)
  • Raphinha (Barcelona)
  • Rayan (Bournemouth)
  • Richarlison (Tottenham)
  • Samuel Lino (Flamengo)
  • Vini Jr (Real Madrid)

The Squad I’d Pick

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