○Once again, Carlos Ancelotti’s decision caused a stir in Brazil. The coach has revealed one of the players he will include on his list for the 2026 World Cup after excluding Neymar Jr. from his squad for friendlies against France and Croatia. And of course it caused ripples.
To the surprise of many fans, he chose defender Danilo Luis da Silva over one of the biggest stars such as Rafinha, Vincius Junior or Neymar himself.
Caretto shows faith in Danilo
The Italian coach highlighted that the 34-year-old defender will be part of the final 26-man roster that will travel to the United States, Mexico and Canada to take part in the highly anticipated tournament.
“Danilo is a very important player, not only on the field, but also off the field. I like his personality, his character, his style of play, so he will definitely be in the final 26-man list. He can play in all defensive positions,” Ancelotti said at a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Croatia in Orlando, USA (via DAZN).
However, this has caused a stir as Danilo, currently at Flamengo, is not guaranteed to start for the club and is an alternate in the Brazilian national team. In response, Mr. Caret put an end to the controversy as follows:
“Danilo will be among the nine defenders. We have a very clear idea now. The line-up for the first game is almost decided, and the line-up of the final squad is also almost decided. Sometimes I get tired of talking about what has already been said,” he concluded.
Danilo’s arrival is part of a strategy to balance the squad and promote generational change, combining young players with the experienced leadership the team already has, helping to sustain the group in a demanding tournament.
Furthermore, it was Carlet himself who had recommended him to sign for Real Madrid a while back in 2015. With this new call-up, he leaves no doubt about his support to the defender.
However, this has drawn comparisons to Neymar, with Danilo having logged 452 minutes this season, just 48 more than the Santos star, who missed the start of the season and other matches due to injury. Furthermore, it was noted that Ney could play as a “false number 9” while the defender can play on either side with the center back.
However, Danilo is currently uninjured, which Ancelotti deemed an important factor, while Neymar continues to recover from a muscle strain caused by exhaustion during training with the club, and has not played for the Brazilian national team since October 17, 2023 due to a serious knee injury.
Meanwhile, the final decision rests with Caret, who is expected to announce the final squad for the World Cup on May 18th.
For this tournament, Brazil will be placed in Group C along with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland. They will make their debut against Morocco on Saturday, June 13th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. They will then face Haiti at Soldier Field in Philadelphia on Friday, June 19th, and Scotland at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Wednesday, June 24th.
