FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[BigBos]

Having read some posts about the Brazilian National team, many fans think that Neymar must be in the squad for them to succeed. I don't think it's the truth because there are other good players who can lead the Seleção to success. Carlo Ancelotti just took over the club this year and has achieved some level of success. If Neymar is fit, it would be good to have him in the World Cup team because of his skills and experience. But claiming that the Brazilian team wouldn't achieve success without him is not true.   

Neymar is indeed the type of player who can make a difference in the outcome of a match. He has a wealth of experience, and in this case, it’s understandable that many people expect him to receive a call up from Ancelotti. We know, Neymar has been away from the Brazilian National team for quite some time due to a long-term injury, and he no longer plays in a competitive league, something that will naturally affect his performance level.

I agree that no single player can guarantee success, but if Neymar is in good condition, I think there’s no harm in Ancelotti calling him up. At the very least, Ancelotti would have an experienced player in the squad who can provide a positive influence on the younger players. Of course, there are many other players who also deserve a call up, Brazil has never lacked options, and Ancelotti certainly knows better what to do.

Neymar is an influential player, but I saw that in the past, whereas now I'm not so sure. The reason is quite clear because he's been injured for a long time and he hasn't been in a competitive environment so that's going to affect his performance. I don't follow him much at the moment, because I last followed him intensely when he was at Al Hilal.

Fans are usually like that, they speculate that if the player they're referring to is in the squad maybe it will change the situation. But if they're wrong in the end, then we know who will take the brunt of the blame.

[Wildwest]

Neymar is indeed the type of player who can make a difference in the outcome of a match. He has a wealth of experience, and in this case, it’s understandable that many people expect him to receive a call up from Ancelotti. We know, Neymar has been away from the Brazilian National team for quite some time due to a long-term injury, and he no longer plays in a competitive league, something that will naturally affect his performance level.

Neymar is an influential player, but I saw that in the past, whereas now I'm not so sure. The reason is quite clear because he's been injured for a long time and he hasn't been in a competitive environment so that's going to affect his performance. I don't follow him much at the moment, because I last followed him intensely when he was at Al Hilal.

Fans are usually like that, they speculate that if the player they're referring to is in the squad maybe it will change the situation. But if they're wrong in the end, then we know who will take the brunt of the blame.

In this new era, Neymar is no longer the player his opponents fear. His career has waned since moving to the Arab League, where he tends to perform just like any other player. On the national team, Neymar is no longer an influential player because his performances aren't like they were at Barcelona and PSG, something we have to understand.
Fans continue to encourage their players to be included in the squad.

[Fuso.hp]

Something is wrong with Brazil presently. This strange generational change nobody is discussing. Neymar? He's done. No national team time at all in a year, back to Santos, and frankly... They don't need him. Without him, they beat South Korea 5-0. Endrick (the next big thing) had not even made the squad at the time. He is gathering splinters at Real Madrid with this 18 year old Estevao playing for Brazil and also playing at Chelsea, scoring goals

So the talent is there, definitely. However, when Ancelotti became aggressive towards South Korea, they seemed to be invincible. They collapsed when he turned it against Japan by playing it safe. Which version shows up in 2026? Last month they were defeated by Bolivia. Bolivia! Then fell in FIFA ranking as Argentina climbed to 2nd

Can they win in 2026? Sure. But Ancelotti has 18 months to work out the best XI and stick with it. Otherwise, it is another quarter final loss and we are back in 2030

Even if Brazil fails to win the 2026 World Cup, the hope is that they will at least qualify for the semi-finals. Brazil is a big name in football, but they have not been able to do justice to their name in the last few tournaments. I still remember the mistake of the 22nd World Cup, when Brazil took the lead against Croatia with Neymar's goal towards the end of the match, but at that time the manager changed several players and the team tried to play attacking football again, as a result of which Croatia scored a goal towards the end of the game and regained parity, and later, when there was a tiebreaker, Croatia won against Brazil. If Brazil had played defensively and not attacked towards the end of the match in the 22nd World Cup, they would not have regretted qualifying for the semi-finals.

[mv1986]

~

Even if Brazil fails to win the 2026 World Cup, the hope is that they will at least qualify for the semi-finals. Brazil is a big name in football, but they have not been able to do justice to their name in the last few tournaments. I still remember the mistake of the 22nd World Cup, when Brazil took the lead against Croatia with Neymar's goal towards the end of the match, but at that time the manager changed several players and the team tried to play attacking football again, as a result of which Croatia scored a goal towards the end of the game and regained parity, and later, when there was a tiebreaker, Croatia won against Brazil. If Brazil had played defensively and not attacked towards the end of the match in the 22nd World Cup, they would not have regretted qualifying for the semi-finals.

"Even if Brazil fails to win the 2026 World Cup..."

Do you know how likely it is that they will win it? It is a few percentage points and that's it. There is France, Argentina, Spain, a few others, Brazil is not among the top favourite teams. That is why I think it gets often confused when Ancelotti took on the job as the coach, everyone thought there could be nothing more beautiful for a coach than to train the Selecao. In my opinion it is not the best of all timings a coach could have there. Brazil has been in trouble for a while now. That doesn't mean they are not a top ten team in the world, but when they played against one of the strong nations, it's a while ago they could win.

[EL MOHA]

Even if Brazil fails to win the 2026 World Cup, the hope is that they will at least qualify for the semi-finals. Brazil is a big name in football, but they have not been able to do justice to their name in the last few tournaments. I still remember the mistake of the 22nd World Cup, when Brazil took the lead against Croatia with Neymar's goal towards the end of the match, but at that time the manager changed several players and the team tried to play attacking football again, as a result of which Croatia scored a goal towards the end of the game and regained parity, and later, when there was a tiebreaker, Croatia won against Brazil. If Brazil had played defensively and not attacked towards the end of the match in the 22nd World Cup, they would not have regretted qualifying for the semi-finals.

I think the expectations on this Brazil national team needs to actually drop or be reduced because let’s be sincere to ourselves this Brazilian team are not match for the previous Brazil teams that we know and I think people still do not want to actually get the reality, this is a new Brazilian team, so reducing the expectations placed on them might even help them to focus more, because we have past that era where this Brazilian team like the Italians or the Germans were fearsome.

In the game you discussed I think you shouldn’t put blame on the manager just like that, Brazil had no great defenders on the bench then and if he had risked it to play those players and then the game still turn around it will still be the same old story if not worse, one thing though that the manager would have done differently that day was playing more central midfielders after the goal because that was where Croatia strength had lied

[Ale88]

Endrick (the next big thing) had not even made the squad at the time. He is gathering splinters at Real Madrid with this 18 year old Estevao playing for Brazil and also playing at Chelsea, scoring goals

This is an interesting point that oftentimes is not mentioned: in the last 7-10 years we noticed a shift in the way many teams operate on the market: the prices of many players went out of control so instead of buying the current world star they try to discover it before it becomes world famous. We have a clear example with Real Madrid and Vinicius, Rodrygo, etc etc. The problem is that all these players are usually 18 years old and they find themselves from the Brasilerão to Europe, maybe playing for the best team in the world, and usually these teams don't wait, you must be good immediately, so if they don't perform don't play, and their growth may stop or be heavily reduced. I understand that everybody wants to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona but not everybody is ready to do it when they are 18 years old.

We can't say that Endrick is throwing away his career because he's only 19 years old but he must move to another team and start playing, what's the point for him to stay in Madrid without playing a single minute?

[BigBos]

Neymar is an influential player, but I saw that in the past, whereas now I'm not so sure. The reason is quite clear because he's been injured for a long time and he hasn't been in a competitive environment so that's going to affect his performance. I don't follow him much at the moment, because I last followed him intensely when he was at Al Hilal.

Fans are usually like that, they speculate that if the player they're referring to is in the squad maybe it will change the situation. But if they're wrong in the end, then we know who will take the brunt of the blame.

In this new era, Neymar is no longer the player his opponents fear. His career has waned since moving to the Arab League, where he tends to perform just like any other player. On the national team, Neymar is no longer an influential player because his performances aren't like they were at Barcelona and PSG, something we have to understand.
Fans continue to encourage their players to be included in the squad.

Ancelotti shouldn't listen to what fans say, because believe me, it will also be a burden on him whether he plays him or not. The coach should have full control over which players he calls up for the national team.

Not all fans want that; Neymar's best is over. Perhaps those who want him back hope he can be like Kroos in Germany, who can have a positive impact. However, not everything goes according to plan. So, it's better to move forward without listening to what outsiders say.

[8rch7]

Ancelotti shouldn't listen to what fans say, because believe me, it will also be a burden on him whether he plays him or not. The coach should have full control over which players he calls up for the national team.

Not all fans want that; Neymar's best is over. Perhaps those who want him back hope he can be like Kroos in Germany, who can have a positive impact. However, not everything goes according to plan. So, it's better to move forward without listening to what outsiders say.

Agree with you, Carlo Ancelotti shouldn't listen what fans expectation to call Neymar return back to national team if can see how many youth players right now playing with many top Europe team. Neymar nowadays have been over and he plays with Brazil domestic league huge difference level with youth player playing for many top europe team, have injury problem make difficult calling back to Brazil national teams.

Better for Carlo Ancelotti calling youth playing have playing with top Europe team with high intentation games, if have option many top player better leaving Neymar although many fans expected for calling him back to Brazil team. I think era or best performance of Neymar have been over right now and many young player can replace better for his position such as Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.

[Daniel91]

Ancelotti shouldn't listen to what fans say, because believe me, it will also be a burden on him whether he plays him or not. The coach should have full control over which players he calls up for the national team.

Not all fans want that; Neymar's best is over. Perhaps those who want him back hope he can be like Kroos in Germany, who can have a positive impact. However, not everything goes according to plan. So, it's better to move forward without listening to what outsiders say.

Agree with you, Carlo Ancelotti shouldn't listen what fans expectation to call Neymar return back to national team if can see how many youth players right now playing with many top Europe team. Neymar nowadays have been over and he plays with Brazil domestic league huge difference level with youth player playing for many top europe team, have injury problem make difficult calling back to Brazil national teams.

Better for Carlo Ancelotti calling youth playing have playing with top Europe team with high intentation games, if have option many top player better leaving Neymar although many fans expected for calling him back to Brazil team. I think era or best performance of Neymar have been over right now and many young player can replace better for his position such as Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.

Carlo Ancelotti, as a coach, always focuses on developing good relationships with the players and creating a positive atmosphere within the team. When managing top-quality teams, such as Real or now Brazil, with many big stars, it is very important to know how to balance things so that all players are satisfied and conflicts between players do not arise. Regardless of his current injury, Neymar is very important for the Brazilian team, and if he is not injured, I believe Ancelotti will call him up to the squad, although at first, he probably won’t play him much and will likely give him a chance first in matches against weaker teams.

[pewboy]

Not all fans want that; Neymar's best is over. Perhaps those who want him back hope he can be like Kroos in Germany, who can have a positive impact. However, not everything goes according to plan. So, it's better to move forward without listening to what outsiders say.

Neymar is no longer the player he wants to be, clearly this is something that others perceive and understand, right now he would do well to do some work on himself if he wants to start performing as well as he once did, clearly this is something that he has to do and no one else

[emrecemsan]

"Even if Brazil fails to win the 2026 World Cup..."

Do you know how likely it is that they will win it? It is a few percentage points and that's it. There is France, Argentina, Spain, a few others, Brazil is not among the top favourite teams. That is why I think it gets often confused when Ancelotti took on the job as the coach, everyone thought there could be nothing more beautiful for a coach than to train the Selecao. In my opinion it is not the best of all timings a coach could have there. Brazil has been in trouble for a while now. That doesn't mean they are not a top ten team in the world, but when they played against one of the strong nations, it's a while ago they could win.

I agree with your comment. Brazil are never among top favourites right now. But the interesting thing is bookmakers don't even have a single idea about it as they see him as the 2nd big favourite with 7.00 odds. 

Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarter finals in the last World Cup. That's all I'll say... And a few words on Ancelotti, I don't think he's doing good at all right now. They still don't look promising and I doubt this will change unless we see some real progress.

[Juicyhome]

Neymar is no longer the player he wants to be, clearly this is something that others perceive and understand, right now he would do well to do some work on himself if he wants to start performing as well as he once did, clearly this is something that he has to do and no one else

Neymar should not think about the 2026 world cup, he should let the young players do their things, he has won it when he was still balling not now that he's not fit . Injury won't let him play in the world cup and Brazil won't gamble with him. Thought every team wants to fixture experienced players in their squad to help the you ones, but Neymar injury won't let him contribute to the squad, it's best they drop him and invite young players that are fit to play.

The decision to drop Neymar won't be hard for Carlo Ancelotti, except he recover and is fit to play, but inviting Neymar to the 2026 world is not a wise idea, he won't play two matches and injury will catch him up, it will be risky to invite Neymar, he should be drop.

[changaa]

Carlo Ancelotti, as a coach, always focuses on developing good relationships with the players and creating a positive atmosphere within the team. When managing top-quality teams, such as Real or now Brazil, with many big stars, it is very important to know how to balance things so that all players are satisfied and conflicts between players do not arise. Regardless of his current injury, Neymar is very important for the Brazilian team, and if he is not injured, I believe Ancelotti will call him up to the squad, although at first, he probably won?t play him much and will likely give him a chance first in matches against weaker teams.

And he does very well, given that a team where the players get along and love each other is a real team that cooperates and helps each other, so the work he does is very good.
a job underestimated by many but not by him who looks at every single detail

[Daniel91]

Carlo Ancelotti, as a coach, always focuses on developing good relationships with the players and creating a positive atmosphere within the team. When managing top-quality teams, such as Real or now Brazil, with many big stars, it is very important to know how to balance things so that all players are satisfied and conflicts between players do not arise. Regardless of his current injury, Neymar is very important for the Brazilian team, and if he is not injured, I believe Ancelotti will call him up to the squad, although at first, he probably won?t play him much and will likely give him a chance first in matches against weaker teams.

And he does very well, given that a team where the players get along and love each other is a real team that cooperates and helps each other, so the work he does is very good.
a job underestimated by many but not by him who looks at every single detail

I agree. There are many coaches who understand football very well, are good analysts and strategists, and achieve good results at many clubs. 
However, when they come to top teams like Real, Barcelona, PSG, etc., which are full of top players, they do not achieve good results because they fail to maintain team spirit and reconcile the big egos of the players, all of whom believe they should be playing. 
Carlo Ancelotti is a coach who has always known how to create a good atmosphere in the team and become a good friend to the players; he is a good psychologist, and this is the aspect that has made him one of the best coaches in the world. 
With him, Brazil gained a new dimension and perhaps that small detail they had been missing so far to become world champions again, a dream that all Brazilians have been waiting for for 23 years.

[SATWAT]

I agree with your comment. Brazil are never among top favourites right now. But the interesting thing is bookmakers don't even have a single idea about it as they see him as the 2nd big favourite with 7.00 odds. 

Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarter finals in the last World Cup. That's all I'll say... And a few words on Ancelotti, I don't think he's doing good at all right now. They still don't look promising and I doubt this will change unless we see some real progress.

Brazil in serious mess-up even they are full of quality and skilled players because suddenly things gone on wrong side they take good decision and hire Carlos Ancelotti which is doing job and have good start now just few months left in FIFA World Cup, but few are having wish Brazil done good which is looking not easy.
Bookies always have few teams into their radar and Brazil is also one of them, but currently any prediction is surely going to be not good about this because Argentina and Portugal are other teams with France and England are also strong candidates for title.
Carlos Ancelotti is one of the best in business but giving result in few months never been easy for any one if Brazil able to qualify for top four this could be also big achievement for them because now with few big teams they are falling down badly in last few years.

[cande86]

I agree with your comment. Brazil are never among top favourites right now. But the interesting thing is bookmakers don't even have a single idea about it as they see him as the 2nd big favourite with 7.00 odds. 

Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarter finals in the last World Cup. That's all I'll say... And a few words on Ancelotti, I don't think he's doing good at all right now. They still don't look promising and I doubt this will change unless we see some real progress.

It's strange that Brazil isn't among the favorites. I think Ancelotti is doing a good job, but it must be said that Brazil is in a somewhat awkward position.
He definitely took a Barcelona player who is a bit of a disaster and is putting him back in peuidi and that's not easy.

[Volgastallion]

Brazil isnt among the favorites like most of our said, but take this in consideration, aside of Argentina and Spain which national team is right now in good shape? Most of them are not ina  good fit, maybe France like always is a contender, but no other. Portugal? Maybe but i dont know they always fails in the world cups.

[DaNNy001]

I agree with your comment. Brazil are never among top favourites right now. But the interesting thing is bookmakers don't even have a single idea about it as they see him as the 2nd big favourite with 7.00 odds. 

Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarter finals in the last World Cup. That's all I'll say... And a few words on Ancelotti, I don't think he's doing good at all right now. They still don't look promising and I doubt this will change unless we see some real progress.

It's strange that Brazil isn't among the favorites. I think Ancelotti is doing a good job, but it must be said that Brazil is in a somewhat awkward position.
He definitely took a Barcelona player who is a bit of a disaster and is putting him back in peuidi and that's not easy.

Football has changed so much that Brazil is now looking like a mediocre team and yet they still fall deep into the problem that they have because I don't think this Brazil team playing like this will go any far in the world cup because the rate at which even the lesser teams are now active and playing I doubt if this Brazilian team and ancelloti will find it easy playing some of the games although there is time for them to do something about the form because they really need to step up the game.

[pewboy]

Better for Carlo Ancelotti calling youth playing have playing with top Europe team with high intentation games, if have option many top player better leaving Neymar although many fans expected for calling him back to Brazil team. I think era or best performance of Neymar have been over right now and many young player can replace better for his position such as Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.

Yes, in fact, Neymar and company's fanboys shouldn't even talk, they question the coach's decisions, which is the most important thing a team and a federation should have. In my opinion, things aren't like they used to be, and it's normal that he's not called up.

[snipie]

Football has changed so much that Brazil is now looking like a mediocre team and yet they still fall deep into the problem that they have because I don't think this Brazil team playing like this will go any far in the world cup...

To be honest, the FIFA World Cup has its own charm and the performance of all teams and players get boosted by many fold so even if Brazil is not OK right now, they might improve drastically next.
There are many months left before the World Cup so Carlo Ancelotti can improve the quality of the team further. With him, the Brazilian national team results got better.
I don't think Brazil will not go far unless they face nations like France early. For Neymar, we talked about him much. He has to prove himself useful or just watch the matches of his nations from the TV or with spectators in the stadium.