Carlo Ancelotti explains Neymar Jr's omission from Brazil squad

New Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his reasons for dropping Brazilian icon Neymar Jr from his first squad.

Ancelotti has explained why he dropped the Selecao captain from the released squad, citing positive intentions and a rather key role for the forward under his tenure.

Ancelotti was named as the Brazilian national team head coach earlier this week after he departed from Real Madrid after guiding them to win their last game of the season on Saturday.

The Selecao announced their first squad under the Italian for their World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay on Monday, but with Neymar nowhere to be found on the list.

Brazil captain Neymar was the surprise exclusion from Ancelotti’s squad due to the Santos star’s inconsistencies amid injury issues.

Neymar Jr keeps battling for form amid injury woes in race to make the Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup(Image credit: Getty Images)

However, the former Real Madrid coach has revealed that Neymar is still a key part of Brazil’s plans for the World Cup as he continues to “count on him”.

Speaking to the media, Ancelotti said: “In this call-up, I selected the players who are doing well. Neymar has just returned from injury, everyone knows his quality and we are counting on him”

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward continues to work on his fitness and form with Santos. With the 2026 World Cup coming up, the winger will be hoping to bounce back into form heading into 2026.