Ancelotti Begins New Era with Brazil Football Squad

Carlo Ancelotti has ripped up the old script and started again with Brazil.

Stung by a miserable World Cup and a shock round-of-16 exit to Norway, the Italian has unveiled a radically youthful squad for upcoming friendlies against Australia and India – and some of the biggest names in Brazilian football are nowhere to be seen.

Alisson out as Ancelotti swings the axe

Top of the omissions list: Alisson. The Liverpool goalkeeper, long considered untouchable for the Selecao, has been left out as Ancelotti resets his goalkeeping department.

Veteran midfield anchors Casemiro and Fabinho are also gone. Neymar, of course, is missing too, his recent international retirement drawing a clear line under an era that delivered plenty of drama but fell short on the biggest stage.

This is not a gentle transition. It is a clear break.

Ancelotti is following through on a promise he made in the aftermath of that defeat to Norway. The 65-year-old vowed to build a new cycle, and he has now targeted players who will still be eligible for the 2028 Olympic Games, with an eye firmly on the 2030 World Cup.

A manager still hurting – and planning

The World Cup failure has clearly left a mark. Ancelotti has admitted that international scars cut deeper than anything he has experienced in club football.

“The World Cup was a disappointment for us and for me personally,” he said, as quoted by ESPN. “The pain of the defeat lingers much longer. Now, however, we are motivated by the fact that we have time to prepare for a new cycle and get ready for the upcoming competitions.”

The rebuild starts in goal. Alisson’s absence is not a permanent exile, Ancelotti insists, but a calculated move to fast-track the next generation.

“We know Alisson very well, and when the competitions, like the Copa America, come, if he remains being the best goalkeeper in Brazil, Alisson will play,” he explained. “Right now, however, we have to prioritise the younger ones.”

So Hugo Souza, Pedro Morisco and Otavio get their chance to stake a claim.

Youth first, but leaders stay

This is not a kids-only revolution. Ancelotti has kept a spine of high-level experience to guide the new wave.

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior stays on as one of the main attacking references, joined by Barcelona winger Raphinha. Chelsea forward Joao Pedro, who missed the World Cup, returns to the fold and will be expected to shoulder responsibility in this new-look frontline.

At the back, Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos remains the defensive leader, while new Arsenal signing Bruno Guimaraes will marshal the midfield and set the tone for the younger players around him.

“I chose these players to help with this change in direction,” Ancelotti said. “They are crucial for the future and will help the younger players improve. One thing is certain: a player who is 34 or 35 years old isn’t the future; they are the present. If a player of that age is ready to play in a major tournament, they will be in the national squad.”

The message is blunt. Age will not disqualify anyone, but nobody will be picked on reputation alone.

Australia, then history in India

The new Brazil will be thrown straight into a demanding tour schedule.

First up is a double-header in Australia. The Selecao face the Socceroos in Townsville on September 25, then meet them again four days later in Brisbane. Two games, one opponent, and a valuable early look at how this youthful group copes under senior international pressure.

Then comes a historic trip.

On October 3, Brazil will play in India for the first time, taking the five-time world champions to Kolkata, a city where football passion runs deep and where the Selecao command a vast, devoted following despite never having played there.

For a squad built around the future, it is a fitting stage: a fresh team in a new football market, trying to write the opening lines of a different Brazil story.

Brazil squad in full

• Goalkeepers: Hugo Souza, Pedro Morisco, Otavio
• Defenders: Arthur Dias, Wesley, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Douglas Santos, Jair, Matheuzinho, Maurio Junior, Vitor Reis
• Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes, Andrey Santos, Danilo Santos, Dougals Luiz, Breno Bidon, Gabriel Bontempo
• Forwards: Endrick, Joao Pedro, Estevao, Pedro, Raphinha, Rayan, Samuel Lino, Vinicius Junior

Ancelotti has made his bet: youth, hunger and a handful of elite leaders to bind it all together. The old guard will still have their say if they can prove they belong.

But from this moment on, Brazil’s future starts here.