Carlo Ancelotti named two Manchester United players in his latest Brazil national team squad, with both Casemiro and Matheus Cunha playing a role in Thursday night’s defeat against France.
It’s set to be a busy end to the season for Manchester United, with Michael Carrick’s side looking determined to secure Champions League qualification.
Many of the players in United’s first team will also be aiming to perform at a high level to ensure they are selected for the 2026 World Cup this summer, granted their national team has qualified.
There are other United players at risk of missing out on the World Cup for multiple reasons. Casemiro and Matheus Cunha are not two of them, and they were representing Brazil against France tonight.
Casemiro playing against France in Boston
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
Casemiro is our number one ranked Brazilian to play for Man Utd – Do you agree?
Let's hear your rankings? What would you change about this list?
Man Utd Brazilians ranked
Getty Images
Casemiro is Brazil’s best midfielder in a star-studded international friendly
France were reduced to 10-men but won their international friendly against Brazil 2-0, thanks to two stunning goals from Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike.
Although it was only an international friendly, Carlo Ancelotti and Didier Deschamps had an incredible pool of talent to select from in Boston.
Many of the players were playing, trying to solidify their chances of being on the plane to the 2026 World Cup.
More United News
The France line-up included Aurelien Tchouameni, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Mbappe. On the other hand, Brazil had many stars too, including United duo Casemiro and Cunha as well as Vinicius Jr. and Raphinha.
There was no shortage of intensity from the start of the game, with Casemiro showing his ability to hit hard with a tackle on Adrien Rabiot.
In the 37th-minute, Casemiro was booked for arguing with the referee when his attempt from outside the box appeared to take a touch off Mike Maignan before going out.
The United midfielder was left bemused by the decision before being shown a yellow card for dissent, showing his competitiveness, even if it’s a friendly.
Casemiro played a total of 84-minutes in the friendly and created a total of three chances as everything went through him in the middle of the pitch for Brazil.
He was forced to make five defensive contributions as well as a total of 69 touches.
It wasn’t Casemiro’s best performance, but he was still Brazil’s best midfielder by some distance.
United now plan for the new stadium to be ready for 2035 – What do you think about this?
Getty Images
Matheus Cunha fails to make a major impact against France
Cunha had a nice touch inside the first half to set Brazil on an attack, but Barcelona winger Raphinha was unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
The 26-year-old performed well on a bad night for Ancelotti’s side, getting 71-minutes on the pitch. He created two chances and also made three defensive contributions.
Cunha, who is enjoying his first season at United, made 33 touches against the French before being replaced.
The United forward will be disappointed that he wasn’t able to have a major impact on the game, by scoring or even registering an assist.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox