Carlo Ancelotti has until 18 May to name his 26 players. The conversation around Brazil’s central striker position has not been louder in years, and Igor Thiago is at the centre of it.
The Brentford forward earned his first call-up on 16 March 2026, as the Premier League’s second-highest scorer behind only Erling Haaland. Twenty days later, he came off the bench in Orlando, won a penalty for his side, and converted it himself in the 88th minute against Croatia. Brazil won 3-1. Thiago’s first international goal arrived in his first international appearance.
“It’s the greatest achievement of my life,” he told Brentford’s official channels after the match. “God is faithful, God has already written my story, and this was the day he chose for me to represent my country and score my first goal with the Canarinha.”
Ancelotti, speaking after the win, made the point clearly. “The thing that pleases me the most is that the new players have made the most of their opportunities,” he said, according to Brentford’s official site. “Clearly, this makes the selection of the final squad more difficult. Because Igor Thiago, Léo Pereira, and Danilo played well. Endrick also played very well; Kaiki, too.”
The question now is whether one penalty, 21 Premier League goals, and a season that has out-performed every other Brazilian striker in Europe, is enough to put him on the plane.
The Brazilian striker picture
Ancelotti’s central forward problem is one of variety, not absence. According to a March feature by beIN Sports analysing the Italian’s options, the candidates to lead the line for Brazil at the World Cup include João Pedro at Chelsea, Pedro at Flamengo, Vitor Roque at Palmeiras, Marcos Leonardo at Al Hilal, Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal, Endrick on loan at Lyon from Real Madrid, Igor Jesús at Nottingham Forest, and Igor Thiago at Brentford. Richarlison, of Tottenham, has been omitted on form. Rayan, the 19-year-old Bournemouth forward, was called up in March alongside Thiago.
That is at least eight active candidates competing for what tend to be three spots in a 26-man squad.
What the Brentford striker offers is a profile none of the others currently provide.
| Player | Club | League goals 2025-26 | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Thiago | Brentford | 21 | Direct No.9, aerial threat, holds play |
| João Pedro | Chelsea | (link play, second forward) | Mobile, drops deep, build-up play |
| Pedro | Flamengo | (Brasileirão) | Penalty-area finisher |
| Endrick | Lyon (loan) | (Ligue 1) | Pace, runs in behind, young |
| Vitor Roque | Palmeiras | (Brasileirão) | Athletic, returning to form |
| Gabriel Jesus | Arsenal | (returning from injury) | Pressing forward, false 9 |
| Marcos Leonardo | Al Hilal | (Saudi Pro League) | Classic poacher |
| Rayan | Bournemouth | (debut PL season) | Young, willing finisher |
Thiago’s tally of 21 Premier League goals is more than any other Brazilian striker has managed in any major European league this season.
What he gives Ancelotti that others do not
Brazil’s expected attack at the World Cup is built around creators. Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Matheus Cunha and Gabriel Martinelli were named among the 11 attackers featured in the Panini sticker album, a list compiled by a specialist team in Italy that, according to Goal.com, calculates the probability of each player being selected. Estevão, the 18-year-old Chelsea forward, was on that list before being ruled out of the World Cup by injury in April.
What that group lacks is a focal-point centre-forward who can hold the ball up, drag defenders out of position, and finish high crosses against deep blocks. Ancelotti has spoken publicly about using Vinicius centrally, telling PLACAR last November that he sees the Real Madrid forward “as a winger or as a central striker,” and that “in the centre, just one well-timed movement is enough to score a goal.”
That conversation explains the door being left open for someone like Thiago. Brazil have plenty of forwards who can break a packed defence open with a piece of skill. They have fewer who can pin two centre-backs and head a Casemiro cross into the top corner.
Thiago’s profile fits that gap. At 1.91 metres, he wins aerial duels. He chests long balls into runners. Brentford’s system, more direct under Keith Andrews than under his predecessors, has shown what he can do when a team plays through him. In a tournament where Brazil are likely to face deep defensive blocks from Morocco, Cameroon and other Group C opponents, that profile becomes valuable.
The case against
Honesty matters here. Thiago is 24 and has one international cap. He has never played a competitive game for Brazil. He missed his chances at Old Trafford on 27 April, on a night his side needed him most. Manchester United beat Brentford 2-1, with Casemiro and Benjamin Šeško scoring, and Gary Neville told Sky Sports that on one of Thiago’s best chances, “if he just keeps in line with the ball, he can’t miss.”
Ancelotti will weigh form, but he will also weigh experience. João Pedro has played 11 times for Brazil. Gabriel Jesus has more than 70 caps and a Copa América goal. Pedro of Flamengo has been part of the senior set-up for years. The argument against Thiago is the simplest one in international football. He is new.
The argument against the others, equally honest, is that none of them is producing the kind of season Thiago is producing right now.
The numbers that travel well
Twenty-one Premier League goals in 33 appearances. The highest single-season tally by a Brazilian player in Premier League history, surpassing the records previously held by Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo at Brentford alone. November Premier League Player of the Month, after scoring five goals in four matches. A hat-trick at Goodison on 4 January. Braces against Manchester United, Newcastle, Burnley, Sunderland, and Everton.
A season like this in any other Brazilian striker’s club career would have closed the conversation about a World Cup squad spot weeks ago. The reason it has not closed for Thiago is partly competition, partly experience, and partly the natural caution of a coach in his first international job who would rather take a known quantity than a Premier League outsider.
But Ancelotti’s own words after Croatia suggested otherwise. He spoke about the new players making the most of their opportunities. He singled out Thiago by name. He said it makes selection more difficult.
What the next three weeks could decide
Brentford have games left against Chelsea, West Ham, Aston Villa and Fulham before the season ends. Thiago needs goals in those matches. Not because the case has not been made, but because the case has to keep being made. A striker who scores in his next two outings turns the conversation from “should he go” to “should he start the opener against Morocco.” A striker who finishes the season the way he finished at Old Trafford gives Ancelotti room to leave him at home.
The other piece is what happens around him. If Gabriel Jesus regains full fitness with Arsenal, the squad’s experience profile shifts. If Endrick scores for Lyon, the youth bet becomes more attractive. If João Pedro finishes the Premier League season strongly with Chelsea, Brazil’s first-choice mobile striker option is settled. Each of those scenarios narrows the door for Thiago.
What is unlikely to change is the fundamental shape of his case. He is the form striker. He is the highest-scoring Brazilian in Premier League history this season. He has scored on his international debut. He gives Ancelotti a profile no one else in the squad gives.
The verdict
Yes, Igor Thiago deserves a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad.
That answer is not a guarantee that Ancelotti will pick him. It is a judgment about merit, profile, and form. Brazil is going to a World Cup with João Pedro, Endrick, and most likely one other senior striker. Thiago has the strongest case among the candidates not named João Pedro, particularly if Gabriel Jesus is not back to full match sharpness by mid-May.
The bigger picture, the one the noise around Old Trafford should not obscure, is that a player who was a bricklayer at 13 has already represented his country and scored. He has 21 Premier League goals. He has the profile Brazil’s attack does not currently have. He is the form Brazilian striker in Europe.
Ancelotti names his squad on 18 May. The football says yes. The decision belongs to the coach.
