There is only one Newcastle United player in Carlo Ancelotti’s first Brazil squad.
Carlo Ancelotti is the new Brazil manager, with the 65-year-old recently announced as Dorival’s replacement.
They are preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June, as Ancelotti gets set to test himself on the international stage for the first time in his career.
The Italian veteran has announced his squad for those games, and it includes Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes.
That is not a major surprise, nor is it a shock that Joelinton has not been included.
The 28-year-old was in the previous Brazil squad back in March, but is currently out of action with a knee injury. Eddie Howe recently said that Joelinton will be back for pre-season, with the midfielder making good progress behind the scenes.
Photo by Cameron Smith - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by Cameron Smith – Danehouse/Getty Images
Carlo Ancelotti offers Joelinton Brazil hope after injury
That injury has resulted in Joelinton missing out on the chance to impress the new Brazil boss.
However, Ancelotti clearly has the Magpies’ number seven in his thoughts. He has named Joelinton in a list of stars that includes Neymar and Rodrygo as players who have not been selected because of injury or a lack of fitness.
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“As I said, I tried to select players who are in good shape,” he told Globo Esporte.
“Neymar had an injury recently. Everyone knows that he is a very important player and always will be.
“Currently, we have many players who suffer injuries and cannot be in the national team, like Neymar, the same is true of Rodrygo, Gabriel, Joelinton, Militão. What I want to say is that Brazil has many talented players.”
The fact that Ancelotti has mentioned Joelinton by name should at least give the £40million man encouragement that he could return to the squad.
That will be his aim, with the World Cup set to take place in the summer of 2026.
Other Newcastle United players selected for international duty
Two Newcastle United players are set to report for England duty following the conclusion of the Premier League.
Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn are in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, while Jacob Murphy and Tino Livramento have missed out. The latter could be part of the Three Lions team that compete at the European Under-21 Championship.
Sandro Tonali has been chosen to represent Italy, while Alexander Isak is in the Sweden squad.
Despite only making one appearance for Newcastle United all season, Odysseas Vlachodimos retains his place in the Greece squad.