Thoughts on Brazil National Football Team Selection for World Cup 2026 🇧🇷🟡🟢
Yesterday, when Brazil announced their squad for the 2026 World Cup and included Neymar Jr., many fans became so happy that they seem to have ignored all the other shortcomings and criticisms...
What felt like the biggest weakness is that, just like his predecessors Tite, Diniz, and Dorival Jr., Carlo has reduced the number of proper midfielders in the squad and increased the number of attackers...
In big tournaments like the World Cup, when facing top-class teams, it remains to be seen how this aging and fatigue-prone midfield featuring Casemiro and Fabinho will battle.
That will be a crucial factor in Brazil’s progress in the World Cup. In this 25-member squad, there are only 5 proper midfielders in total...
And among them, players like Fabinho and Lucas Paquetá are somewhat in career dips.The only real options are Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, and Danilo...It’s unclear how Carlo plans to run this team with such a midfield that has almost zero depth.
At a minimum, they could have included players like Chelsea’s André Santos, Wolves’ João Gomes, Newcastle’s Joelinton, Atalanta’s Ederson, or Galatasaray’s Gabriel Sara.
That would have given the midfield a bit more depth...
Then there are the two wing-backs. Even after so many years, there isn’t a single good player at left-back...
They are still relying on the aging Danilo and Alex Sandro ... Wesley seems okay as a right-back though.Douglas Santos and others feel very average...There was also Monaco’s left-back Caio Henrique — I don’t know why he wasn’t considered.
Overall, the midfield and wing-back positions look very weak...
Looking at the three goalkeepers, they really needed at least one good penalty specialist. Alisson and Ederson have repeatedly shown they are poor at penalties...I don’t know about Hugo Souza’s penalty-saving ability — he might be brought on just for that.
In central defence, instead of Leo and Ibanez, it feels like they could have taken Thiago Silva, Beraldo, or Murillo...
Eder Militão’s injury is a huge loss; otherwise, he could have been deployed as a right-back too.
In attack, they’ve packed in a lot of players, and none of them seem weak — everyone is excellent. But personally, I felt it would have been better to have João Pedro instead of (or along with) Martinelli...
Arsenal fans will tell you if you ask them — Martinelli is a "mid player" (mid-table level player).
Another big loss for Brazil is Chelsea’s Estevão...
Now we’ll have to wait and see what Carlo can do with this squad.
Nothing less than the title will satisfy Brazil fans.
But with this unbalanced midfield and a defence lacking depth, whether that’s achievable is a big question...
Otherwise, in all 8 World Cup matches, these big-name attackers will have to step up every game and win matches through individual brilliance....
How far this team can go is something we’ll have to wait and watch...Viva Brasil
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