Brazil World Cup squad 2022: The Selecao players eyeing glory in Qatar knockout stages

Joshua Thomas

Brazil World Cup squad 2022: The Selecao players eyeing glory in Qatar knockout stages image

Brazil are chasing their first World Cup triumph in two decades in Qatar with 26 men tasked with getting them there.

The South American giants went into the 2022 tournament as the top-ranked team in the world and many of the names on the list of coach Tite are household names, playing for some of the biggest club teams in the world.

But the fact remains that the lengthy World Cup drought will weigh on the team given the expectations back home as they go searching for a sixth World Cup title.

They were also unsuccessful in the most recent Copa America, placing more pressure on a team with already high expectations.

MORE: Complete World Cup schedule | Who has won the most World Cups? 

Brazil World Cup squad

Tite named his final 26-man squad on Monday, November 7, seven days ahead of the FIFA-imposed deadline of November 14.

The surprise name on the list is 39-year-old Dani Alves, who didn't have the best of seasons with Pumas UNAM in Mexico.

He is Danilo's backup at right-back and he was preferred over Tottenham's Emerson Royal. Alves will be among the oldest players in World Cup history in Qatar.

Here's the final 26-man list. Caps and stats are correct ahead of the start of Qatar 2022.

MORE: Why did Brazil call up 39-year-old Dani Alves?

Position No. Player Club Age Caps
GK 1 Alisson Liverpool (ENG) 30 56
GK 23 Ederson Manchester City (ENG) 29 18
GK 12 Weverton Palmeiras (BRA) 34 11
DEF 4 Marquinhos PSG (FRA)  28 70
DEF 14 Eder Militao Real Madrid (SPA) 24 23
DEF 3 Thiago Silva Chelsea (ENG) 38 108
DEF 2 Danilo Juventus (ITA) 31 46
DEF 16 Alex Telles Sevilla (SPA) 29 7
DEF 13 Dani Alves Pumas UNAM (MEX) 39 125
DEF 6 Alex Sandro Juventus (ITA) 31 37
DEF 24 Bremer Juventus (ITA) 25 1
MID 15 Fabinho Liverpool (ENG) 29 28
MID 5 Casemiro Manchester United (ENG) 30 64
MID 17 Bruno Guimaraes Newcastle United (ENG) 24 8
MID 8 Fred Manchester United (ENG) 29 27
MID 7 Lucas Paqueta West Ham (ENG) 25 34
MID 22 Everton Ribeiro Flamengo (BRA) 33 22
FWD 26 Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal (ENG) 21 3
FWD 20 Vinicius Jr. Real Madrid (SPA) 22 15
FWD 10 Neymar PSG (FRA) 30 120
FWD 19 Antony Manchester United (ENG) 22 10
FWD 21 Rodrygo Real Madrid (SPA) 21 6
FWD 11 Raphinha Barcelona (SPA) 25 10
FWD 9 Richarlison Tottenham (ENG) 25 37
FWD 25 Pedro Flamengo (BRA) 25 2
FWD 18 Gabriel Jesus Arsenal (ENG) 25 56

The most notable absences from the final list were:

  • Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
  • Gabriel (Arsenal) 
  • Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo)
  • Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest)
  • Matheus Cunha (Atletico Madrid)
  • Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa)
  • Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur)
  • Gerson (Marseille)
  • Luiz Henrique (Real Betis)
  • Rodinei (Flamengo)

MORE: Explaining the players snubbed by Tite in Brazil's final 26-man squad

Reports in Brazil indicated in advance that Philippe Coutinho had picked up a right thigh injury that would keep him out for six weeks, thus forcing him to miss out on the World Cup, though his club form may have been enough given his subpar start to 2022/23 with Aston Villa.

In the end, regardless of whether it was form or fitness, there was no place for the former Liverpool and Barcelona man, but Tite is clearly confident that he has enough talent in his squad to go all the way, as Brazil seek to extend their record as the nation with the most World Cup wins with five. 

Here is the reaction of a few players who were watching Tite's announcement live: PSG's Neymar, Manchester United's Antony, Tottenham's Richarlison and Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes:

WORLD CUP 2022 SELECTED SQUADS:
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon 
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales 

Brazil national team stars, strengths & weaknesses

Having entered the Qatar finals on a seven-game winning run, Brazil have found form at the perfect time for the 2022 World Cup.

They are among the leading contenders to win the tournament, and expectations will be sky high back at home after their path through the group stages. 

Stars

Big names don't get much bigger than Neymar and the PSG attacker headed into the World Cup injury free and in fine form at club level. 

This current Brazil team also aren't short of Premier League stars, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison — although the Arsenal man was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining an injury. A recent Richarlison injury has not keep him out of Qatar, and indeed he lit up the group stages with one of the goals of the tournament before dancing his way through the knockouts, but Aston Villa's Coutinho was not as fortunate to make the final cut.

MORE: All about Brazil's Group G opponents at the World Cup

Strengths

A key element of any successful Brazilian side is the attack, and they won't be lacking in this area for the 2022 World Cup.

Tite has his star-studded side playing some great attacking football and they scored three or more goals in six of their last seven matches leading up to the tournament. Those strikes were shared around too, with no single player carrying Brazil in the final third. 

Weaknesses

As with most attack-minded teams, defence inevitably becomes an area of concern and this is the case for Brazil. A lack of pace in their backline leaves them vulnerable to counter-attacks, particularly when their full-backs are caught out of position. (The call-up of Juventus defender Bremer should help this area provided he sees the field.)

Another cause for concern is their recent World Cup record, with Brazil knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2018 and infamously beaten 7-1 by Germany in the 2014 semifinals. Those results could see doubt once again creep in as they chase redemption in Qatar. 

Can Brazil replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final 26-man roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules, "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."

Joshua Thomas

Joshua Thomas Photo

Josh has been covering sport for nearly a decade now having fallen in love with football at a young age. A UTS graduate, Josh has previously worked for GOAL and now covers football closely for The Sporting News.