2026 World Cup: I Won’t Drop Neymar From Brazil Squad –Ancelotti

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar will remain in the 26‑man World Cup squad, even after the forward suffered a recent grade‑2 calf muscle injury.

He expects Neymar to be fit for Brazil’s opening match against Morocco, but is prepared to wait until the second game against Haiti if necessary.

“To be clear, Neymar is going to be with us. We think he can recover for the first match (against Morocco) and, if not, for the second (against Haiti).”

Read Also: 2026 World Cup: Casemiro Will Be Available For Brazil – Casemiro

“No doubt that these 26 players are going to play in the World Cup.”

Ancelotti also acknowledged that Brazil lacks the same star power it had before this summer’s tournament.

“The more experienced player has to have more responsibility, the younger player has to have less pressure. We all have a lot of responsibility and pressure,” Ancelotti told reporters at a press conference.

“And what should we do? Share it. It can’t be individual; we have to share the pressure so that it decreases a little.”

“Sometimes, we talk a lot about how Brazil doesn’t have a star. It might be true, we don’t have Pele, Romario and Ronaldo, but we can have a shared responsibility.”

Read Also: 2026 World Cup: We’re Yet To Receive Visa – Iran

“We’ve worked a lot on defense. We’re going to work a lot on that. I don’t want to take away the creativity of the attacking players.”

“They have a lot of quality, I don’t want to create confusion. Defensively, it’s a daily piece of information until the last game of the World Cup. Our work is focused on that. The defenders, full‑backs, midfielders, they all have a very important role.”