Jorge Jesus confirms CBF talks, questions Ancelotti call-up | OneFootball

After being eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the round of 16, with a 1-0 defeat to Spain, the Portugal national team announced the hiring of coach Jorge Jesus on July 10.

The former Flamengo manager arrived to take over the team in place of the dismissed Roberto Martínez.

On Monday (20), Jorge Jesus confirmed that he held talks to take charge of the Brazilian national team last year, after the 4-1 loss to Argentina that led to Dorival Júnior’s departure.

"I ended up not going to coach the Brazilian national team, but I had already been given guidance to make Brazil’s preliminary call-up for the match that would be played in March after they had lost 4-1 to Argentina," JJ told Portugal’s Canal 11.

In fact, after the defeat to their South American rivals in the qualifiers, the national team’s next commitment came during the FIFA window in June 2025, when Carlo Ancelotti made his debut in charge of Brazil.

Jorge Jesus even took a swipe at the Italian coach’s squad selection for the 2026 World Cup.

According to the new Portugal manager, Pedro, whom he worked with at Flamengo, is the country’s best "ponta de lança" (center forward) and deserved a place among those called up.

"What would I have done? Brazilian players are all over the world. Besides that, there is a lot of quality in the Brazilian Championship... And would I have called up a different squad from what Ancelotti did? No, of course I would have with one or two players. I think that at this moment the best center forward is Pedro, and that’s a little biased because he was my player at Flamengo. One to three different players, but I agree with most of what he did. But the way of looking at the game and training is what makes the difference."

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

📸 FAYEZ NURELDINE - AFP or Licensors