Overview
Carlo Ancelotti has led 6 matches as head coach of the Brazilian national team since his appointment at the end of May. The Italian strategist has had 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, scored 11 goals and kept a clean sheet in 4 matches.
Selecao won 1-0 at home to Paraguay in June, continuing to maintain an incredible record of participating in all 23 World Cups. Ancelotti was tasked with taking the team to their sixth world championship this summer in the US, Canada and Mexico.
However, Brazil's World Cup qualifying campaign has not been really convincing. They have only won 8, drawn four and lost six against other South American sides - most of which came under former manager Dorival Junior.
The campaign ended disappointingly when Brazil unexpectedly lost 0-1 at Bolivia in September, causing Selecao to drop to fifth place in the rankings and 10 points behind the leader Argentina.
Ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, Brazil has just experienced a series of friendly matches with unstable results in the training session last month in Asia. They won 5-0 against Korea, but before that, they lost 2-3 to Japan despite leading by 2 goals in the first half.
Ancelotti certainly wants to avoid repeating that unexpected collapse, while aiming for his first win against Senegal this weekend. Brazil have failed to win in their previous two encounters with the African representative (D1 L1).
Senegal has become one of the last African teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, after an easy 4-0 home win over Mauritania in the final match last month. This result helped them beat DR Congo to take the top spot in Group B.
The " Teranga Lions" have won 7 and drawn 3 of their 10 qualifiers, scoring 22 goals and conceding only 3. Coach Pape Thiaw has had an impressive winning rate of 83.3% (10 wins, 2 draws) since taking charge in December 2024.
With stable performance, Senegal can completely aim for the fourth World Cup in history, and at the same time, for the third consecutive time participating in the biggest playground on the planet.
Before that, Senegal will compete in the 2025 African Cup of Nations, where they are in the same group as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin and Botswana. To prepare for the tournament, Senegal will have another friendly match with Kenya, right after the match with Brazil.
Ranked 18th in the world by FIFA, Senegal is heading towards AFCON with high excitement. They have won all 4 recent international matches, with a total score of 14-2.
Personnel situation
Neymar has not played for Brazil for more than 2 years. Although the striker, who was plagued by injuries, has recovered from his most recent comeback at Santos, he is still not on the list of 26 Ancelotti players.
Goalkeeper Hugo Souza has to withdraw due to injury, while Raphinha, Gabriel Martinelli, Savinho, Joelinton, Joao Gomes and Lucas Beraldo are all notable names left out of this call-up.
Ancelotti revealed that he had convinced Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) to take on the role of center forward in the national team jersey, instead of sticking to the left wing as at the club.
In addition, the trio of Joao Pedro, Richarlison and Matheus Cunha are also options for the center forward position. Chelsea youngster Estevao is hoping to be given a chance up front.
On the Senegalese side, Krepin Diatta is absent due to injury, while Nampalys Mendy, Mamadou Mbow and Cheikh Nisse were all not called up despite being present last month.
Striker Assane Diao ( Como) returns after missing the most recent training session due to injury. Midfielder Rassoul Ndiaye (Le Havre) also returned to the national team for the first time in 18 months and is competing for his second cap.
Defender Mamadou Sarr and 17-year-old winger Ibrahim Mbaye of Paris Saint-Germain were first called up, and could make their Senegalese debut against Brazil.
Expected lineup:
Brazil: Ederson, Wesley, Marquinhos, Gabriel, C. Henrique, Casemiro, Guimaraes, Estevao, Paqueta, Rodrygo, Vinicius.
Senegal: E. Mendy, A. Mendy, Mendlibaly, Niakhate, Diouf, P. Sarr, Gueye, I. Sarr, Ndiaye, Mane, Jackson.
The match between Brazil and Senegal takes place at 23:00 on November 15 (Vietnam time).
