Joao Pedro omitted from Brazil World Cup squad by Ancelotti

Joao Pedro has pulled out of the Brazil national team due to injury, dealing another blow to a player whose international career has been defined by frustrating near-misses and bad timing. The Chelsea forward was only recently recalled to the squad by coach Carlo Ancelotti for upcoming friendlies against Australia and India in late September 2026. That recall itself was a redemption arc in progress, following one of the more debated squad decisions of the 2026 World Cup cycle. Now injury has intervened before Pedro could make the most of it. A season of highs and lows Pedro’s 2025/26 campaign was, by any reasonable measure, excellent. He netted 20 goals across 49 appearances for Chelsea, the kind of output that typically earns a plane ticket to a World Cup. It did not. Ancelotti left Pedro out of Brazil’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, a decision that raised eyebrows given the forward’s prolific form. The Italian coach acknowledged the difficulty of the call, reportedly saying that Pedro “probably deserved to be on this list” but citing squad balance, tactical fit, and experience as the determining factors. Meanwhile, players like Neymar, who carried his own well-documented injury conc...