Corinthians keeper omitted from Brazil squad, Ancelotti on rivalry | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Monday (16th), coach Carlo Ancelotti made the penultimate call-up for the Brazilian National Team before the final list, which will be announced close to the start of the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to take place between mid-June and July in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The list released this afternoon is for the friendlies against France and Croatia on March 26th and 31st, on North American soil.

Among the absences in the selected players is goalkeeper Hugo Souza from Corinthians, who had been present in all the lists of the Italian coach since he took over the technical command of the Amarelinha. In October 2025, the number 1 of Alvinegro was the starter in Brazil's 3-2 defeat, after a comeback, against Japan in Asia.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

For this call-up, Ancelotti opted to call Alisson (Liverpool-ENG), Ederson (Fenerbahçe-TUR), and Bento (Al-Nassr). Asked about the choice of the mentioned goalkeepers in a press conference this Monday (16th) in Rio de Janeiro, the Italian coach emphasized that the competition for the position until the World Cup is open.

“The goalkeeper position is not closed. We have continuous evaluations of each game for each player. It may be that, at this moment, Alisson, Bento, and Ederson are better; it may be that in May something changes. We are open. If the players who are not on this list want to compete in the World Cup, they have to do only one thing: work, play well, and show their attitudes. There is no other way to convince the technical committee”, he said.

Hugo Souza was signed by Corinthians in July 2024 and quickly became one of the team's pillars. He participated in the historic run in the Brasileirão 2024, with nine consecutive victories – from the relegation zone to the Copa Libertadores qualifiers – and was decisive in the victories of the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

The goalkeeper is the third with the most penalties saved in the history of Corinthians (14), only behind Cássio (32), who played for the club between 2012 and 2024, and Ronaldo Giovanelli (27) – who wore the Corinthians jersey throughout the 90s. In total, there are 51 victories, 29 draws, and 26 defeats in 106 games for the club from Parque São Jorge. 

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