Las 2026 World Cup qualifying rounds in USA, Mexico and Canada return in the CONMEBOL with the dispute of the seventh and eighth dates. The halfway point of the qualifying period comes after a break in the last two FIFA windows for national teams. In March there were international friendlies in which Brazil faced England in Wembley already Spain in it Santiago Bernabeuwhile between June and July the dispute of the America’s CupThe five-time world champion is now preparing to receive Curitiba a Ecuador he 6 September at 9:45 p.m. local time and visit Assumption he 10 of that month to face Paraguay at 8:00 p.m. local time.
In his third list as coach since taking office in January, Dorival Juniorwhich continues to have several fronts to resolve, has summoned footballers. With Neymar as main low, still submerged in his recovery phase of the injury suffered almost a year agobefore the need to find the new leader that shines on the playing field, big star continues to be Vinicius. Among the most notable names are, Rodrygo, Endrick, Militão, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Ederson or Alisson. The main novelties are Stephen -Palm trees- and Luiz Henrique -Botafogo-, who are making their debut in a call-up.
The section of absences also leaves very important names. Among the most notable are: Raphinha -Barcelona-, recently named one of the captains of Barça and sanctioned with one match, Casemiro -Manchester United-, their third consecutive absence, Gabriel Jesus -Arsenal-, Martinelli -Arsenal-, Richarlison –Tottenham- o Bremer -Juventus-. They have also fallen in relation to the last Copa América Rafael -São Paulo-, Douglas Luiz -Juventus-, Andreas Pereira -Fulham-, Evanilson -Bournemouth- y Pepe -Port-.
The South American team also had a last-minute absence from these two qualifying matches. Savinhowith a knee injury, has not travelled with his country and has stayed in Manchester to fully recover. Instead he has gone Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo) after a long absence at international level.
Getting back on track
The selection is located immersed in the search for a new football direction. Your role In the Copa America he sowed many doubts on the current generation. They could not win Costa Rica and in their key group stage duel against Colombia They tied. They had to measure themselves Uruguay in the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group D. La Celeste eliminated them in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals. In total, They won only one match -a Paraguay- Of the four that he contested.
In the six qualifying dates already played is bordering on debacle. He lost his historic unbeaten record at home in the last match against Argentina y links four games -three consecutive defeats- without winning. It is located in the sixth position with seven points -Argentina leads the table with fifteen points-. With the old format of four teams qualifying and a fifth team going to the play-offs, they would not currently be qualifying for the World Cup -now six teams qualify directly and the seventh team gets the play-off spot-.
Moment that the Selection is going through
After announcing the list of those called up, Dorival spoke to the media and acknowledged that the Canarinha is not going through “a comfortable and positive moment” and that the players must “give more than they have given so far”. “We will give our best again so that we can quickly find a new path and that the six games we will have until the end of the year will be approached as six finals“, said the coach.
On the other hand, he assures that The group is “growing” and “maturing quickly” y He asked fans to respect the processes for forming a team. In this sense, He defended the call-up of Endrick and Estevãopointing out that “We have to be patient with these kids”.
Follow the AS Newspaper channel on WhatsAppwhere you will find all things sport in one place: the latest news of the day, the agenda with the latest news on the most important sporting events, the most outstanding images, the opinion of the best AS journalists, reports, videos, and a bit of humour from time to time.