Brazil signs Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti 1 year ahead of 2026 World Cup

Carlo Ancelotti to coach Brazil's national team through 2026 World Cup, aiming to revive team's success.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will leave the Spanish club and take over as coach of Brazil’s national team through the 2026 World Cup, the Brazilian soccer federation said on Monday (May 12, 2025).

Ancelotti — Brazil's first full-time foreign coach in a century — will officially take over the team after the Spanish league ends on May 25, the Brazilian federation (CBF) said in a statement published on its website and social media channels.

“Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to coach Brazil is more than a strategic movement. It is a statement to the world that we are determined to recover the top of the podium,” CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said. “He is the greatest coach in history and, now, he will be with the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write new glorious chapters of Brazilian soccer.”

There was no immediate comment on the move from Ancelotti or Real Madrid.

Brazil — a five-time world champion — had been under pressure to sign a new coach who could revitalize the team, which is in fourth place in South American qualifying for next year's World Cup and has its 33-year-old star Neymar struggling to return to top form after an ACL injury in 2023. The top six teams will secure direct spots to the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Ancelotti, 65, will replace Dorival Júnior, who was coach for 14 months and was fired in March after a 4-1 defeat to archrival Argentina.

Rodrigues said Ancelotti will take charge of Brazil ahead of its next World Cup qualifiers, away against Ecuador on June 5 and at home against Paraguay five days later. His contract with Real Madrid ends next year but is expected to be terminated early.