Ancelotti's new Brazil with young players, change starts from the goalposts

Brazil's 26-member squad has eight new faces. The average age of the team is 24.4 years. After the World Cup failure, it is clear from Carlo Ancelotti's latest team that the Italian coach is placing more trust in young people to build Brazil's future.

Brazil will play two friendlies against Australia and India during the international break. This is Ancelotti's first squad after being eliminated from the last sixteen of the World Cup. He has also started implementing the promise he made to reorganize the team after the World Cup. Fifteen players have been left out of the last World Cup squad.

The biggest change is in terms of age. The average age of the Brazilian team in the 2026 World Cup was 29 years, 6 months and 29 days, which is the highest in the country's history at the World Cup. This time, Ancelotti is shifting away from that position and is focusing on young people. The average age of his new team is 24.4 years.

The Brazilian coach has placed more trust not only in age, but also in domestic football players. There were only four players from Brazil's domestic clubs in the last World Cup squad. This time, that number has increased to 10—the highest in 13 years. The last time coach Luiz Felipe Scolari named 11 domestic players in the squad for a friendly match on May 14, 2013.

The changes started with the goalposts. All three goalkeepers are new faces. Hugo Souza has only played one match for the national team. On the other hand, Otavio and Pedro Morisco are still waiting for their debuts. There is no place for experienced goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

However, Ancelotti is not talking about permanently dropping Alisson. In his words, he knows Alisson well. If he is the team's best goalkeeper before a big tournament in the future, he will definitely get a chance. For now, his goal is to test the youngsters.

There has also been a reduction in experience in the midfield. Experienced defensive midfielders like Fabinho and Casemiro are not in the team this time. Among the newcomers, Arthur Diaz and Mauro Junior have got a chance. However, Ancelotti has kept important players like Bruno Guimaraes and Marquinhos to balance the experience with the youngsters.

The Brazil coach's plan is clearer in his own words. By keeping Marquinhos, Gabriel, Bruno, Rafinha and Vinicius Junior, he mainly wants to keep some experienced players to show the way to the youngsters. According to him, these players are important for the future and will help the youngsters improve.

However, not everyone agrees with Ancelotti's decision. Former Brazil captain Thiago Silva believes that if a player is in a position to contribute to the national team, he should not be excluded just because of his age.

In response, Ancelotti also made his position clear. According to him, a 34 or 35-year-old player is not the foundation of the future, they are important for the present. So if someone of that age is ready for a big tournament, he will definitely get a chance in the team. However, his main goal now is to prepare the youngsters in the long-term plan.

Corinthians midfielder Breno Biden, 21, could be a special target in this plan. The youngster, who has come through Brazil's age-group, is seen as the future of the national team. Ancelotti, who has been looking for a quality midfielder for a long time, is also giving special importance to this position.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of Mauro Junior is also a bit of a surprise. Ancelotti himself admitted that he does not know the fullback very well yet. However, he wants to see Mauro up close as part of testing various fullbacks in Europe.

Brazil now has the opportunity to test their new team against Australia and India. They will play two friendlies against Australia on September 25 and 29. Then, the five-time world champions will face India at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 3.

Brazil squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Souza, Pedro Morisco, Otavio.

Defenders: Arthur Dias, Douglas Santos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jair, Marquinhos, Matheugenio, Mauro Jr., Vitor Reyes, Wesley.
Midfielders: Andre Santos, Breno Biden, Bruno Guimaraes, Danilo Santos, Douglas Luis, Gabriel Bontempo.
Forwards: Endric, Estevao, Joao Pedro, Pedro, Rafinha, Ryan, Samuel Leno and Vinicius Jr.