Vinicius leading Brazil preparations for Colombia showdown

The Brazilian national team held their first training session in Brasilia on Monday, with Endrick replacing an injured Neymar, to prepare for Thursday's match against Colombia, as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Dorival Junior supervised the training session at the Bezerrao stadium in the capital, where most of the called-up players attended.

Madrid's Vinicius and Endrick, who was called up last week to replace Neymar, were seen chatting with the coach during the session.

Another of those called up, Flamengo winger Wesley, declared that it is a “dream come true” to play for the 'Selecao' for the first time, in an interview released Monday by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

“I can't say I didn't imagine it; I imagined it because I worked for it,” he said.

Missing from the training session were team stars such as Barcelona striker Raphinha and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who played on Sunday with their respective teams and are still travelling to Brazil.

The 'Selecao' seeks, in their match against Colombia in Brasilia, to climb positions in the qualifiers, where they lie in 5th place with 18 points, one less than their rival and Ecuador.

After that match, the national team will travel to Buenos Aires to face Argentina, which leads the standings with 25 points, on Tuesday next week.

In case of defeat, the 'Selecao' runs the risk of being overtaken by Paraguay, which is just one point behind them.