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

Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza was ultimately not called up by the Brazilian National Team for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to 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 on 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 squad 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 last year.

In a press conference after the squad announcement, Ancelotti justified Weverton’s call-up 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, he is doing well. I think he will play in the next match. Also, if he does not play, he still has time to be 100% for the first game. This year, we have tested three goalkeepers: Bento, Hugo Souza, and John. We felt that, for this competition, we needed another experienced player, as Weverton can be.”

At Corinthians since July 2024, after standing out for Chaves-POR while 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 a Corinthians shirt, playing a decisive role in the club’s Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) titles, 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).

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