Ancelotti says age won't stop Thiago Silva reaching World Cup 2026 | OneFootball

Although he was not called up for Brazil’s most recent squad, for the friendlies against France (1-2) and Croatia (3-1), Thiago Silva continues to dream of being at the 2026 World Cup, and the age of the experienced FC Porto centre-back is not seen as an obstacle. That assurance was given by Carlo Ancelotti, the canarinha head coach, in an interview with L’Équipe.

“I never look at the date of birth on a passport. All Brazilian players can aspire to be on the list for the World Cup. So it doesn’t matter if he is 41 years old. If he deserves to be there, he will be. Age is not a problem. Look at Maldini, who was almost 39 when he won a Champions League final, or Luka Modric, who is 40 today,” explained the Italian coach.

The defender for the Dragons, who returned to Porto this January, could still go on to have a successful career after retiring as a player and moving into coaching. “Thiago will be a great coach, I have no doubt about that. He has experience, he worked with some truly brilliant coaches during his career, and I’m not talking about myself. And he works very hard,” stressed Ancelotti, who coached the Brazilian at PSG in 2012/13.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.