The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) released an official statement on Monday (Jun. 8) regarding the recovery of forward Neymar, who suffered a right calf injury.

According to the statement, Brazil’s number 10 underwent an MRI scan that showed “good progress, within expected parameters.” However, no timeline has been set for the player’s return to the field. The statement notes only that Neymar “will follow the recovery and physical preparation plan devised by the Brazilian national team’s medical staff.”

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Brazil’s World Cup debut will take place next Saturday (13) against Morocco in New Jersey, United States, where Carlo Ancelotti’s team has been training. Last Saturday, the squad traveled to Cleveland and defeated Egypt 2-1 in a friendly. Neymar, however, did not travel with the rest of the delegation.

When the national team roster was announced for the World Cup on May 18, Santos, Neymar’s club, reported that the player had swelling in his calf. However, when he joined the national team nine days later, he underwent further tests that revealed a Grade 2 injury in the area. The following day, the national team’s doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, said Neymar would need another two to three weeks to recover. According to that timeline, the earliest possible date for his return would be next Thursday (11).

FIFA allows roster changes up to 24 hours before a team’s opening match. However, at a press conference on May 30, Ancelotti reaffirmed that Neymar will not be removed from the squad.

Sports Minister Paulo Henrique Cordeiro presented FIFA President Gianni Infantino with the complete regulatory framework for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The two met in Miami last Friday (Jun. 5).

At the meeting, Cordeiro also provided an update on preparations for the event, to be hosted in Brazil, noting that technical inspections at the tournament’s eight host venues have been completed. The following cities have been confirmed – Rio de Janeiro (Maracanã), Salvador (Casa de Apostas Arena Fonte Nova), São Paulo (Neo Química Arena), Belo Horizonte (Mineirão), Brasília (Mané Garrincha Arena), Fortaleza (Castelão Arena), Porto Alegre (Beira-Rio), and Recife (Pernambuco Arena).

“Brazil is fulfilling all the commitments made since the bid. The sanctioning of the regulatory framework represents a decisive step towards ensuring legal security, organization, and excellence in hosting the tournament. We are laying the groundwork to make the 2027 Women’s World Cup a milestone for Brazilian sports and for women’s football worldwide,” the minister stated in a press release issued by the Ministry of Sports.
 

Infantino stated that the federation is confident the event “will be a success.”

“We will have an incredible global impact that will transform women’s soccer, because it will be held in Brazil. FIFA and Brazil are united in this mission,” Infantino added in the same press release.

The Women’s World Cup will take place from June 24 to July 25, 2027. In addition to Brazil, ten other teams have been confirmed. Six of them qualified through the Asian Cup – Australia, China, North Korea, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. New Zealand won the Oceania qualifiers, and Germany, last Friday (5), became the first team to qualify in Europe.

Also on Friday, Argentina and Colombia secured their respective spots, with one round remaining in the Nations League, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) qualifying tournament to determine the two countries advancing to the World Cup and the other two heading to an international playoff, scheduled to take place from November and February. Venezuela, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru are still in the running.

Luiz Augusto Queiroz Miguel, 17, made history in Paris, France, this Saturday (Jun. 6). Known as Guto, he became the first Brazilian to win the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, alongside the Australian Open, Wimbledon (Great Britain), and the US Open (United States).

The tennis player, who entered the tournament ranked fourth in the world junior rankings, defeated American Michael Antonius in the final in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4. With this result, he will move up to No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings.

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Guto had already become only the fourth Brazilian to reach a junior singles final at Roland Garros.

With this title, he joins three other Brazilians who have won junior Grand Slam singles titles: Tiago Fernandes (Australian Open, 2010), Thiago Wild (US Open, 2018), and João Fonseca (US Open, 2023).

“I know it’s a junior tournament, and I know what it’s like to be world junior No. 1, but I still have a long way to go in my career. It’s important to enjoy this moment, but to keep my feet on the ground and keep working,” said Guto, who is ranked 829th in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, in a press release.

Another standout in Paris was 16-year-old Victoria Barros, ranked third in the world among players under 18. She reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, losing to China’s Xinran Sun on Friday in straight sets, 6–2, 6–3. She is the first Brazilian since São Paulo native Dadá Vieira in 1987 to go so far in a junior Grand Slam singles tournament. In the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, Victoria is ranked No. 968.

Brazilian João Fonseca, ranked 30th in the world, bid farewell to his quest for the Roland Garros title in France on Tuesday (Jun. 2). After a historic run on the Parisian clay, the 19-year-old was eliminated by another rising star of the new generation – 20-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik, currently 27th in the world ranking. With a powerful serve, strong finishing shots, and perfect returns, Mensik dictated the pace of the match, winning 3–0 with set scores of 6–4, 6–3, and 7–6, after a 2-hour, 44-minute battle on the Philippe-Chatrier court, the main court at Roland Garros.

Despite the setback, Fonseca has put Brazil back in the men’s quarterfinals at Roland Garros after a 22-year drought – Brazil’s last representative had been Gustavo Kuerten in 2004.

In the next ranking update on Monday (8), the Brazilian is expected to rise to 25th or 26th place thanks to the impressive victories he has racked up at Roland Garros. Fonseca’s highest ranking was 24th in October last year.

Doubles tournament

Also on Tuesday (2), Brazilian Luisa Stefani advanced to the doubles semifinals in Paris for the first time in her career. Partnering with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, the Brazilian defeated the duo of German Laura Siegemund and Russian Vera Zvonareva 2–0, with set scores of 6–4 and 7–5. The pair returns to the court this Friday (5) against American Taylor Townsend and Czech Katerina Siniakova.

This Wednesday (3), Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner and Indian Sriram Balaji take the court together for a spot in the Roland Garros semifinals. They will face the duo formed by Australian Henry Patten and Finnish Harri Heliövaara. The pair advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Germans Puetz and Krawietz 2–0 (7–5, 6–4) last Monday (1).
 

The Brazilian men’s national soccer team thrashed Panama 6–2 in its final friendly match on home soil before the World Cup. More than 72,000 fans packed the Maracanã Stadium on Sunday (May 31), where coach Carlo Ancelotti fielded two different lineups in each half, much to the delight of the crowd.

In the first half, Brazil came out pressing aggressively, and it took just one minute for Vinicius Júnior to open the scoring. Shortly afterward, the team lost intensity, and Panama equalized through Murillo. In the closing minutes of the half, Casemiro scored with a header to give the Brazilian team a 2–1 lead heading into halftime.

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While Brazil struggled to score in the first half, created few chances in midfield, and faced difficulties attacking down the right flank, it dominated the game in the second half. Ancelotti fielded 10 reserves and kept only starter Léo Pereira in defense. As if by magic, Brazil began pressing the ball out of defense, improved their passing, and built attacks through midfield with Danilo, Lucas Paquetá, and Fabinho.

Dominating possession and controlling the game, Brazil added four more goals through Rayan, Lucas Paquetá, Igor Thiago (from a penalty), and Danilo Santos. Harvey pulled one back for Panama in the closing minutes, making the final score 6–2.

Next steps

The team departs for the United States on Monday (Jun. 1), where it will play its final friendly before the World Cup. Brazil will face Egypt in Cleveland on Saturday (Jun. 6).

Brazil will open its World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13 in New Jersey. The Brazilians are in Group C alongside Haiti and Scotland.

Most of the 26 players called up to represent Brazil at the World Cup have already gathered in Teresópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, for the final stage of preparations ahead of the soccer tournament, which begins in 15 days and will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

On Wednesday (May 27), the players underwent medical evaluations and held a training session closed to the press.

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Coach Carlo Ancelotti will lead four training sessions through Saturday (30) in preparation for the friendly against Panama, which will take place on Sunday (31) at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Maracanã Stadium.

The following day, the team will travel to the United States, where they will play a final friendly match against Egypt on June 6 in Cleveland.

Their World Cup debut will be against Morocco on June 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Brazil is in Group C, which also includes Haiti and Scotland.

Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Demoliner, the first Brazilians to take the court in the Roland Garros doubles tournament in Paris, won their respective matches and advanced to the second round.

On Tuesday (May 26), Haddad and her Russian partner, Liudmila Samsonova, defeated favorites Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Desirae Krawczyk of the US. It was an important victory for the Brazilian, who was eliminated from the singles draw on Sunday (24) after losing 2–1 to Britain’s Francesca Jones.

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After a 2-hour, 15-minute match, the duo won 2-1, with set scores of 7-5, 2-6, and 6-2. Their next opponents will be the winners of the match between Indonesians Janice Tjen and Aldila Sutjiadi and the duo of Czech Marie Bouzková and Spaniard Sara Sorribes, who will play on Thursday (28).

Men’s

It was also a good day for Brazil’s Marcelo Demoliner and India’s Sriram Balaji. They defeated Germany’s Constantin Frantzen and the Netherlands’ Robin Haase 2-1 (6-3, 4-6, 6-3).

Their next opponents will be the winners of Wednesday’s (27) match between Germans Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner and the duo of Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi and France’s Manuel Guinard.

Brazil has representatives in five other doubles teams set to make their debuts on Wednesday (27) and Thursday (28).

João Fonseca

After a flawless debut, Brazil’s João Fonseca returns to the court on Wednesday (27) for the second round of the Roland Garros singles draw. The 19-year-old will face 20-year-old Croatian Dino Prizmic, currently ranked 72nd in the world.

Brazilian Luisa Stefani won the women’s doubles title at the WTA 500 in Strasbourg (France) last Saturday (May 23). To claim the tournament trophy, Stefani and Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski defeated American Quinn Gleason and Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri in the final 2–0, with set scores of 7–5 and 6–4.

The Strasbourg tennis tournament serves as a warm-up for Roland-Garros, or the French Open, which began on Sunday (24).

It was the Brazilian’s second consecutive doubles title at the WTA 500 in Strasbourg. She won her first with her former partner, Timea Babos of Hungary.

This year, Stefani and Dabrowski also won the WTA 1000 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the WTA tournaments in Miami, US, and Doha, Qatar.

Before resuming their partnership in November of last year, the Brazilian and the Canadian had already won titles together in Montreal, Canada, in 2021 and Chennai, India, in 2022.