Carlo Ancelotti has left Alisson Becker out of Brazil's squad for next month's friendlies in Singapore, and he was quick to say nobody should read anything into it. The Liverpool goalkeeper stays home, the second-string keepers get a run, and the Brazil coach insists the pecking order has not moved an inch.
Three keepers, none of them Alisson
Ancelotti named a 26-man group at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Between the posts he has gone for Bento of Al Nassr, Lucas Perri of Torino and Pedro Morisco, a young goalkeeper at Coritiba. Brazil play Japan on 14 November and the hosts, Singapore, on 17 November, both at the Singapore National Stadium, and those two games are the last of the national team's year.
The reasoning was simple. Ancelotti said there is no need to test Alisson because he knows exactly what the man can do, and he called him the best goalkeeper he has. When the Copa America comes round, he said, Alisson will be called up, and so will every other regular. Until then, the manager wants to see who else can handle the shirt. For a coach building towards the 2028 Copa America and the 2030 World Cup, that is a sensible use of a friendly nobody will remember in a year.
A squad that looks to the future
Alisson is not the only change of emphasis. Rodrigo Caetano, the national team coordinator, described the window as a chance to look at young talent from around the world, and the list backs that up. Alisson Santana and Rayan, the Bournemouth forward, are in, and so is Estevao, even though his minutes at Chelsea have dried up. He has started twice all season for Alonso's side and has not started a Premier League game in eight under the Spaniard, so the call-up is as much a vote of confidence as a selection.
The familiar names are still there. Vinicius Junior and Endrick come from Real Madrid, Raphinha from Barcelona, and there are two Arsenal players in Bruno Guimaraes and Gabriel Magalhaes. Manchester City's Vitor Reis and Allan, Manchester United's Andrey Santos and Aston Villa's Joao Gomes make up a healthy Premier League contingent. Notably, no Liverpool player is on the list at all.
What it means for Liverpool and Brazil
For Liverpool, the news is quietly welcome. Alisson skips a long flight to Southeast Asia and a pair of games that carry no competitive weight, and he stays in Merseyside while Iraola's side go about a busy winter. Liverpool have won five in a row in all competitions and host Arsenal on Sunday, so a break from the international circus does him no harm.
For Brazil, the picture is clearer than the headlines suggest. This is a team that drew 1-1 and won 4-2 against Australia and then beat India 4-0 in Kolkata, and the Japan game is a rematch of the World Cup knockout tie Brazil won 2-1 in the United States. Those are decent tests, and Ancelotti gets to run them without his first-choice goalkeeper. If Bento, Perri or Morisco impress, the competition behind Alisson gets a little more interesting. If they do not, the coach's judgement that he does not need to look at the number one is confirmed.
Squad context: Brazil v Japan, 14 November, and Brazil v Singapore, 17 November, both at the Singapore National Stadium. Goalkeepers named: Bento (Al Nassr), Lucas Perri (Torino), Pedro Morisco (Coritiba). Alisson Becker, Liverpool, is not included and is expected back for the Copa America.
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