2026 World Cup: Corinthians goalkeeper left out of Brazil squad | OneFootball

Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza ended up not being called up by the Brazilian National Team for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place between June 11 and July 19 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti chose to call up: Alisson (Liverpool-ENG), Ederson (Fenerbahçe), and Weverton (Grêmio).

It is worth remembering that Brazil is in Group C alongside Scotland, Morocco, and Haiti. Their debut will take place next Saturday, June 13, against Morocco, at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), at MetLife Stadium. The following Friday (19), the Seleção returns to the pitch to face Haiti at Lincoln Financial Field, at 9:30 p.m. The third and final group-stage match will be against Scotland, also at MetLife, on June 24, at 7 p.m.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Hugo Souza had been included in every Brazil call-up since Carlo Ancelotti took charge of the Seleção in the first half of 2025. However, in the World Cup squad, the No. 1 was passed over in favor of Weverton. For Brazil, Hugo has played just one match – a 3-2 defeat in a friendly against Japan in October of last year.

In a press conference after the squad announcement, Ancelotti justified the call-up of Weverton and the omissions of Hugo Souza (Corinthians), Jhon (Nottingham Forest), and Bento (Al-Nassr): “Alisson is coming back from injury, but he is training. It has been two weeks now that he has been training normally, and he is doing well. I think he will play the next match.Also, if he does not play, he has time to be 100% for the first game. This year, we have tested three goalkeepers: Bento, Hugo Souza, and John. We thought that, for this competition, we needed one more experienced player, like Weverton.”

At Corinthians since July 2024, after standing out while playing for Chaves in Portugal on loan from Flamengo, Hugo Souza did not take long to become one of the main players at the club from Parque São Jorge. In total, he has made 119 appearances in the Corinthians shirt, playing a decisive role in the club’s Paulista Championship (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) title wins, against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively. The No. 1 is also the third goalkeeper with the most penalty saves in the club’s history (14).

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