How Gabriel Magalhães’ injury could shake up the Brazil squad

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·17 November 2025

How Gabriel Magalhães’ injury could shake up the Brazil squad

The Brazil team continues to prepare for the friendly match this Tuesday against Tunisia at 4:30 PM (Brasília time) in Lille, France. Compared to the team that played against Senegal, coach Carlo Ancelotti will be forced to make at least one change to the starting lineup due to the injury of defender Gabriel Magalhães.

If Ancelotti chooses to make the same substitution as in the game against Senegal, Wesley should come in at right-back and Éder Militão should move to the center-back position. In practice, this allows for a team with more support and attack on the side of the field, as Wesley is a player of the position and Militão was improvised.

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Another option is to field Danilo or Fabrício Bruno in place of Magalhães, keeping Militão at right-back and leaving Wesley on the bench.

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In Monday's press conference, the coach spoke about this change in the starting lineup.

“We are considering a change in the team. Some may not be fit, given the effort in the game against Senegal. Unfortunately, we had Gabriel's injury and placed Wesley on the right side. We want to play a good game, with the same dynamics as against Senegal, with the same intensity,” declared Ancelotti.

The stance on the field

In the recent friendlies for the Brazilian National Team, Ancelotti has fielded a team with four forwards, which could lead to a defensive imbalance in the team. However, the coach liked the setup precisely because of the effort made by the forwards to recover.

“We have a very clear idea of what we want to do. We have a system with many players up front, but we also have to think about a plan B with more defensive players. I liked this system because the forwards had a good attitude; they also have a very important defensive aspect,” stated the coach.