Brazil Confirms Major Change to 2026 World Cup Roster That Will Interest Man Utd Fans

There has been a late change because of injury.

Éderson is going to the World Cup after all. | Nicolò Campo/LightRocket/Getty Images

On the brink of becoming a Manchester United player in a $46.9 million (£35 million) transfer from Atalanta, Éderson is also now heading to the 2026 World Cup with Brazil.

The 26-year-old midfield engine has only played three times for his country since debuting in 2024 and was cut from the preliminary Seleção roster by Carlo Ancelotti last month. But an injury to Roma defender Wesley opened up a spot in the 26-player group that Éderson is to fill.

He will report to the pre-World Cup camp in New York and New Jersey on Monday.

Brazil’s soccer federation (CBF) expressed regret at “beloved” Wesley’s enforced withdrawal.

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How Much Will Éderson Play at the World Cup?

Éderson is coming off a season with Atalanta. | Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Despite experimenting with different players in other parts of the team, Ancelotti was consistent in Brazil’s two warmup friendlies against Panama and Egypt this past week by pairing Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães in central midfield for both matches.

The outgoing Manchester United veteran and the box-to-box Newcastle United captain are therefore most likely to start Brazil’s opening group match against Morocco on June 13.

Éderson’s late arrival suggests that he begins the World Cup bottom of the depth chart. But with former Liverpool No. 6 Fabinho the natural backup to Casemiro, the imminent Manchester United signing probably finds himself in competition with Danilo to be the primary understudy to Guimarães.

Depending on how things unfold, Brazil might have secured a knockout berth after the opening two matches against Morocco and Haiti, meaning there could be opportunity for rotation before facing Scotland on matchday three of the group stage.

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Kobbie Mainoo, Kléberson History Provides Inspiration

Kléberson (L) became a World Cup hero. | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Just because a player doesn’t start the World Cup in the lineup doesn’t mean it’s impossible to break into the team during the tournament.

Kobbie Mainoo, at the time just a few months on from his club breakthrough, managed exactly that for England at Euro 2024. Manager Gareth Southgate had wanted to make natural right back Trent Alexander-Arnold his starting deep-lying playmaker but the experiment failed and the door was flung wide open for Mainoo, who was instrumental in England improving as the tournament progressed.

Going back more than 20 years to the early part of the 21st century, there’s another example to pique the interest of Manchester United fans. In 2002, young Athletico Paranaense midfielder Kléberson was barely known outside of Brazil and had just five national team caps prior to the World Cup. He was on the bench for the group stage but became a starter in the quarterfinal against England and kept that place for both the semifinal and final as Brazil claimed a record sixth trophy.

By the end of the World Cup, Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari remarkably admitted that Kléberson “was always the first name on the team list, ahead of players like Ronaldo.”

Sadly, after moving to Old Trafford a year later and suffering a dislocated shoulder within three weeks, he never managed to settle and his career didn’t reach the heights that his 2002 World Cup performances suggested it should.

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