A roster full of surprises. After days of speculation, Carlo Ancelotti finally revealed the names of the players called up for Brazil’s friendly matches against France and Croatia on March 26 and 31, respectively, in the U.S., but Neymar Jr.’s name is not among them.
This has come as a major surprise since, according to the local press, the Brazilian was included on the preliminary list for these matches. After confirming his squad, the Italian coach revealed the reasons why he did not call up Ney.
Ancelotti reveals why Neymar was left out: Will he miss the World Cup?
Carletto’s decision not to include the 34-year-old star was not a whim or anything of the sort, but rather due to his health and physical condition.
This year, Ney has played only four matches after recovering from another surgery on his left knee late last year, and although he played the full 90 minutes in the match against Corinthians (1-1), he had just missed the match on Tuesday, March 10, between Mirassol and Santos for the fifth round of the Brasileirao (2-2) due to a muscle strain caused by excessive fatigue in training.
Furthermore, the forward has not played for the Canarinha since October 17, 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury in a South American qualifying match against Uruguay.
For this reason, and following the news of Neymar’s latest absence from the Verdeamarela and with several doubts surrounding his participation in the FIFA World Cup, Ancelotti stated:
“If he arrives at the next World Cup at 100%, he can participate. Why isn’t he on this list now? Because he isn’t at 100%. We need players who are at 100% right now. But as I said, the final roster will be different. Neymar has to keep working and playing, demonstrating his quality in good physical condition,” he revealed.
“It’s a physical assessment, not a technical one,” Carletto continued to clarify. “Neymar handles the ball very well. For the coaching staff, and for me, he hasn’t yet reached his full potential. He has to work to achieve it. This is my opinion and that of the entire coaching staff, who are following and will continue to follow his matches in the coming months.”
Neymar considers the upcoming tournament one of his most important goals, if not the most important one, and is doing everything possible to arrive in top form for soccer’s biggest event. However, everything will depend on Ancelotti’s final decision and, of course, on his health.
Complete list of players called up:
- Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Al-Nassr), Ederson (Fenerbahçe)
- Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Ibañez (Al-Ahly), Léo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (PSG), Wesley (Roma)
- Midfielders: Andrey Santos (Chelsea), Casemiro (Manchester United), Danilo (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), Gabriel Sara (Galatasaray)
- Forwards: Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth), Vini Jr. (Real Madrid), João Pedro (Chelsea).
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