Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has explained the reasons behind his shock decision not to select three high-profile stars.
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Ancelotti selected his second Brazil squad since taking over as manager after the 2024/25 season, and the Italian surprisingly left out Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Neymar from the team to face Chile and Bolivia in their final 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
According to Sports Illustrated, Ancelotti explained why he chose not to pick the Real Madrid duo, saying he wanted to get to know other players he had not met before.
"The idea I have is to meet new players that I currently don’t know that well on a personal level,” Ancelotti said. "I want to get to know other players who can help the national team do well," he added.
Speaking about Rodrygo, Ancelotti admitted that he left him out of the squad as he wanted him to get more game time under Xabi Alonso.
"I have a lot of love for him [Rodrygo] obviously,” the Italian revealed. "Yesterday [against Real Oviedo], he played very well for Real Madrid. It was his first game in a long time. Now he has time to prepare himself well to return to the national team. The physical is a very important criterion. A national team player must be at 100% physically," the ex-Chelsea boss added.
Brazil's record goal scorer, Neymar, has also yet to feature for the national team since Ancelotti took over, and not since 2023 when he tore his ACL. However, Ancelotti provided a simple explanation for his omission.
"Neymar isn’t included because he had a small problem this past week," he said. Plus, we don’t have to test him. Everyone knows Neymar; the whole national team, all Brazilian fans know Neymar very well. Neymar, like all the rest, must get to a good physical condition to help the national team," he added.
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The former Bayern Munich boss said Rodrygo and Neymar could call him if they wanted an explanation for their exclusion.
Photos sourced from Twitter/X
