Ancelotti outlines Brazil defence and attack, but midfield doubts remain

Ancelotti outlines Brazil defence and attack, but midfield doubts remain The Brazilian national team held another full-team training session this Wednesday (11) in Singapore under Carlo Ancelotti. According to ge, the session suggested that the defensive and attacking lineups are all but settled for Saturday's friendly against Japan, while midfield remains the coaching staff's biggest question mark. Defensive midfielder Bruno Guimarães missed the most demanding part of training for the third consecutive day. The Arsenal player continues to have his workload managed, doing individual exercises after being limited to gym work in previous sessions. Defense and attack taking shape Training suggested that the defensive lineup will feature Bento in goal, with Wesley, Jair, Gabriel Magalhães and Douglas Santos in front of him. In attack, Ancelotti deployed Raphinha — confirmed as team captain in Marquinhos' absence — centrally as the focal point, flanked by Vinicius Júnior on the left wing and Estêvão on the right. Experiments and alternatives in midfield With the midfield still undecided, the coach tried out several options. The session began with Marlon Gomes and Gabriel Bontempo, but Ancelotti quickly made changes to assess Andrey Santos and João Gomes alongside Bontempo in a 4-3-3 formation. At another point in training, André Luiz was also given a run with the first team. Brazil face Japan this Saturday (14) at 7:15 a.m. Brasília time at Singapore's National Stadium. Brazil's final match of 2026 will be on Tuesday (17) at 7 a.m. against hosts Singapore. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.