Brazil will begin its 2026 World Cup campaign Saturday evening at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with Carlo Ancelotti on the touchline and a squad that mixes established seniors, attacking stars and the returning Neymar.
The match is the first concrete step for a team seeking to end a 24-year World Cup drought, and Ancelotti’s brazil roster was built around a clear spine. Paul Clement, Ancelotti’s assistant, called it plainly: "The spine of the squad is very strong," listing Alisson, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Paqueta, Raphinha, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Martinelli and Matheus Cunha as the core players expected to carry the team.
Clement also stressed the depth of leadership available. "What I love about this team is that they’ve got a really good leadership group, with characters like Marquinhos, Alisson, Casemiro," he said, and he singled out Danilo as "a strong leader whether he plays or not." The thread connecting those names to the opener is simple: if Brazil’s spine functions, the team believes it can dictate games even without its most dramatic moments.
That atmosphere, Clement said, is tight and intentional. "It’s a very religious and very spiritual atmosphere," he said, describing a pregame routine that includes "prayer before the game and there’s prayer after the game, preceded by a few words from the captain or senior player, or the head coach or the director of the federation. It’s nice. It brings a lot of togetherness and camaraderie." It’s a picture of unity Ancelotti will need in a tournament where marginal moments decide long runs.
And then there is Neymar. Ancelotti called the 34-year-old back into the squad last month; he remains Brazil’s record goalscorer and had not played for his country since nearly three years before the announcement, stuck on 128 caps. His name on the roster lifts expectation, but it also recreates a familiar narrative about Brazil’s tendency to orbit around one figure in headline moments.
The familiar melodrama takes on sharper edges because Neymar has been included despite a calf injury, leaving open the central tactical question of the opener: how much will he actually play? That is the story’s unresolved hinge. Brazil can field a spine of elite starters and strong leaders, but the team’s balance changes materially if Neymar is used sparingly or in a limited role.
Practicals for readers: the fixture is fixed — Brazil v Morocco at MetLife Stadium on Saturday evening — and Paul Clement will be at Ancelotti’s side as assistant. What to watch in kickoff: whether Neymar starts and, if he does, how long he lasts; whether the spine named by Clement controls the middle third; and how Danilo, Marquinhos and Casemiro marshal the dressing-room authority Clement praised. If Neymar’s minutes are curtailed, the match will be an early test of Brazil’s structural depth rather than its individual star power.
The single question that will shape Brazil’s first week at the tournament is straightforward — not poetic: how much football can Neymar give them? The answer will arrive at MetLife on Saturday and, depending on it, will alter how Ancelotti uses his roster in rounds to come.
