Carlo Ancelotti left Endrick on the bench as Brasil opened its Copa del Mundo 2026 campaign against Marruecos, choosing Igor Thiago to lead the attack instead. Matheus Cunha also stayed among the substitutes, turning Brazil’s first lineup of the tournament into an early tactical call.
The decision matters now because it came on Brazil’s debut night at the World Cup, when every selection is read as a clue to how Carlo Ancelotti wants his side to play. Endrick, the Real Madrid forward, had scored the winning goal in Brazil’s last friendly, so the benching was not about form alone. It was about the opponent and the plan.
That plan leaned toward a forward with more aerial power and physical presence against a Marruecos side expected to be strong in duels. Endrick is still viewed as one of Brazil’s biggest hopes, but the coaching staff decided that profile was better suited to a later stage of the match than to the opening whistle. In that sense, the choice was less a rejection of the player than a statement about the way Brazil wanted to attack from the start.
Igor Thiago, who plays for Brentford, was picked as the reference point up front, with Brazil looking for a more direct option in the first half. That leaves Endrick as one of the main attacking alternatives if the match opens up after the break, which is likely the next point readers will watch. For now, the story is simple: Brazil trusted a different striker for the opener, and Endrick begins the tournament as the kind of weapon Ancelotti may turn to rather than the one he chose first.
