Brazil’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, is not concerned about Vinícius Júnior after the forward expressed frustration over being substituted during the recent Real Madrid match.
The Brazil international has since apologized to his teammates for his outburst following his substitution in the 2-1 victory against Barcelona on October 26.
Ancelotti expressed little concern regarding the incident as he announced his squad for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies in November earlier this week.
“My relationship with Vinícius is good, just like with the other players,” Ancelotti stated. “I discussed the situation with him, conveyed my thoughts that he made an error, and he acknowledged it and apologized. I believe we’ve moved past it. He is a crucial player for us and can provide much help.”
“He doesn’t have issues here or with his club or coach [Xabi Alonso]. Regarding his personal life, that’s up to him; I’m neither his father nor his brother, just his coach.”
Vinícius has been included in Ancelotti’s roster for the upcoming friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia. Brazil will face Senegal on November 15 at London’s Emirates Stadium and Tunisia on November 18 at Lille‘s Decathlon stadium.
Among the seven domestic-based players in the squad are Flamengo defender Danilo and Palmeiras forward Vitor Roque, who are set to meet in the Copa Libertadores final on November 29.
“We’ve selected players I believe will be beneficial for the national team in these two matches,” Ancelotti stated. “I’ve included players from Flamengo and Roque from Palmeiras, who is performing exceptionally well.”
Brazil’s all-time top scorer Neymar, who just returned to play for Santos after a 48-day injury absence, has not been included in the squad.
“I haven’t spoken to Neymar,” Ancelotti mentioned. “We’ll see when he is fully fit to play again.”
Brazil enters their final two matches of the year hoping to bounce back from a surprising 3-2 loss to Japan in a friendly last month.
“In the last two games, we made several changes to the team to evaluate some players,” Ancelotti added. “The tests we have conducted have been effective in allowing us to assess players we were less familiar with.”
Brazil team coordinator Rodrigo Caetano confirmed future plans for two friendlies in March 2026 in the United States against two yet-to-be-announced European teams.
Full Brazil squad:
Goalkeepers: Éderson (Fenerbahce), Bento (Al Nassr), Hugo Souza (Corinthians).
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Caio Henrique (Monaco), Danilo (Flamengo), Éder Militão (Real Madrid), Fabrício Bruno (Cruzeiro), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Luciano Juba (Bahia), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Paulo Henrique (Vasco), Wesley (Roma).
Midfielders: Andrey Santos (Chelsea), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), Lucas Paquetá (West Ham).
Forwards: Estêvão (Chelsea), João Pedro (Chelsea), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Richarlison (Tottenham), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid), Vitor Roque (Palmeiras)