According to the official FIFA calendar, Brazil debuts on Saturday, June 13 against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. Their second match will be on Friday, June 19 against Haiti at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and they will close the group stage on Wednesday, June 24 against Scotland at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
On June 11, the opening day of the World Cup, the Brazilian team trained in Morristown, New Jersey. Neymar remained on the sidelines of group work and continued his recovery from a grade II injury to his right calf.
The striker has not trained with the rest of the squad since the start of training camp on May 27, although coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes he can rejoin the group in the coming days.
During the minutes open to the press, the players performed warm-up exercises and work in small spaces. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who will compete in his third World Cup, praised the Italian technical director.
“Since Ancelotti’s arrival, the atmosphere has transformed. He is a guy with a very strong presence and gives us peace of mind. He has made us focus on work and not on controversies,” he said.
Alisson described Ancelotti as “a great manager” with a “simple, clear and objective” idea of the game. “He is resilient and humble, with the intelligence necessary to choose the words at the right moment,” he added.
In addition, he highlighted the coach’s enthusiasm for leading the Brazilian team. “I can see his joy and gratitude for leading the Brazilian team. He won everything and is here with joy and enthusiasm,” he said.
Regarding the team’s aspirations, Alisson indicated that Brazil must work to become a team with options to win the title.
“Favouritism does not guarantee anything to anyone,” he warned. The goalkeeper also assured that he has recovered from the physical problems he recently suffered.
All of Brazil’s group stage matches will be played in the United States, allowing the team to remain in the same country during the first stage of the tournament.
With the format expanded to 48 teams, the top two places in each group will advance to the knockout phase, along with the eight best third places.