Carlo Ancelotti's Neymar Dilemma for the 2026 World Cup

Carlo Ancelotti knows exactly where the fault line runs in Brazil right now. It’s not between clubs, not between generations. It’s between “with Neymar” and “without Neymar.”

On Monday, the Italian will unveil his final 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup. On Tuesday, he chose to walk straight into the storm.

Ancelotti faces the Neymar question head‑on

Speaking to Reuters, Ancelotti didn’t dodge the subject that has spilled far beyond the tactical debates and into everyday conversation across Brazil: will Neymar be on the plane?

He started with what everyone already feels.

“Neymar is very loved. Not only by the people, but also by the players,” Ancelotti said, making it clear this is no divisive figure in his dressing room. “If you call up Neymar, you are not bringing a bomb into the locker room, because he is very dear, very loved.”

The message was deliberate. This is not about ego management or dressing-room politics. It is about cold, footballing judgement.

“When you have to choose, you need to consider many things,” he continued. “Neymar is an important player for this country, because of the talent he has always shown, and he had a problem, but he is recovering. He is working hard to recover and he is playing. In recent times he has improved a lot and is playing consistently.”

The “problem” is well known: injury, fitness, the long road back. The timing of that recovery now shapes a nation’s expectations.

Neymar on the 55-man list – and racing the clock

Brazil’s federation, the CBF, has already taken the first formal step. On Monday, it submitted a preliminary list of 55 names to FIFA. Neymar is on it. He is “in the mix,” as insiders like to say, but that wide net offers no guarantees.

Ancelotti, though, has seen enough recently to at least keep the door open. He highlighted a clear uptick in the forward’s condition.

The Santos No. 10, he said, has improved “in the last 15 or 20 days” as his physical level rises. That small window matters. It’s the kind of detail managers cling to when they’re weighing whether a great talent can be trusted to deliver on the biggest stage after a disrupted build-up.

And this is where the job becomes brutal.

“Obviously, for me, it is not such a simple decision. I have to carefully assess the pros and cons,” Ancelotti admitted. The calculation is simple to describe and hard to execute: risk versus reward, sentiment versus sharpness.

“I am the most suitable person”

If the outside noise has been deafening, Ancelotti made it clear he does not intend to be swayed by it.

“That does not put extra pressure on me, because, as I said, for a year we have been evaluating not only Neymar, but all the players,” he said.

Then came the line that underlined his authority over this squad.

“I am the most suitable person to make this decision. Because the information I have about all Brazilian players this year, no one else has. So, I am the most suitable person. Can I make a perfect list? Impossible. But I can make a list with fewer mistakes compared to others. Of that, I am sure.”

No false modesty. No attempt to spread responsibility. If Neymar goes or stays home, it will be on Ancelotti’s terms.

No “external problem” in Brazil’s camp

For all the noise, the coach insisted the environment around the Seleção remains calm and controlled.

“The outside environment is under control, and it will remain under control until the end of the World Cup. With or without Neymar,” he said.

That last phrase hung in the air. A reminder that Brazil’s World Cup cannot be reduced to a single name, no matter how luminous.

The road to the World Cup

Once the final 26-man list is revealed on Monday, the countdown becomes real.

The players chosen will gather at the CBF training center in Granja Comary, in Teresópolis, on May 27. Only those involved with PSG and Arsenal in the Champions League final will arrive later, given their club commitments.

Brazil will then bid farewell to its home crowd at the Maracanã on May 31, in a friendly against Panama. A last night under the Rio lights before the journey begins in earnest.

On American soil, there is one more tune-up: a friendly against Egypt in Cleveland on June 6.

Then comes the moment that matters. On June 13, in New Jersey, Brazil will open its World Cup campaign against Morocco.

By then, the Neymar debate will be over. The consequences of Ancelotti’s choice will just be beginning.