👀 CBF lines up friendlies with France and Croatia ahead of Copa 2026 | OneFootball

On Monday (3), coach Carlo Ancelotti released the list of players called up for the Brazilian National Team’s friendlies for the November FIFA window.

On the 15th, Brazil will face Senegal, and on the 18th, they play against Tunisia.

However, the CBF is already defining the opponents for the March 2026 FIFA window—the last before the World Cup.

According to journalist Pedro Ivo Almeida from ESPN Brasil, the Brazilian National Team is expected to face France at Gillette Stadium in Boston, United States, on March 28, and Croatia, their nemesis in the 2022 World Cup, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on the 31st.

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France and Croatia are not yet mathematically qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

However, these teams depend only on themselves in the final two rounds of the European Qualifiers.

The French lead Group D with 10 points, two points ahead of Ukraine.

And the Croatians are at the top of Group L with 16 points—three more than the Czech Republic.

"We will have two friendlies next March, in the United States, against European teams, which fits our planning so far. However, we still need this FIFA window to confirm the opponents, because the European teams are still in their qualifying period," said Rodrigo Caetano, after Ancelotti’s call-up, before adding.

"For the FIFA window before the World Cup, in March, our intention—already agreed with the president—is to gather here in Brazil. The National Team will have a training period at Granja Comary, and we’ll try to arrange a friendly before heading to the United States, to finish our preparation with another friendly over there."

The final squad announcement for the World Cup is scheduled for the end of May, with the last friendly before departure to the USA likely to take place at the beginning of June, at Maracanã, against a lower-ranked team—the idea is to finish preparations with a lighter match.

Carlo Ancelotti has three wins, one draw, and two losses at the helm of the Brazilian National Team.

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

📸 ANTHONY WALLACE - AFP or licensors