Preview: Brazil vs Panama - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to build excitement on home soil ahead of the World Cup, Brazil host Panama in an international friendly on Sunday night.

The Selecao will be without some of their star defenders for the visit of Los Canaleros to Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana Stadium over the weekend.

Match preview

Less than a year into his spell as Brazil manager, Carlo Ancelotti possesses of an uninspiring record of five wins, two draws and three defeats across matches in World Cup qualifying and friendly encounters.

As a result, hype around the Selecao is potentially at all-time low ahead of football's greatest show in the United States, Canada and Mexico, especially when considering the team's recent struggles in South America.

Brazil concluded their World Cup qualification campaign with a 1-0 loss at minnows Bolivia, with the South American giants placing an unthinkable fifth spot in the CONMEBOL standings, a mammoth 10 points behind first-placed Argentina.

The Selecao would have been forced to fight in an intercontinental playoff if the World Cup was still at 32 teams, however, a top-six finish in South America was enough for automatic qualification for the 2026 edition.

Ancelotti's side have failed to flatter themselves during six straight friendly fixtures between October and the end of the March international window, with a recent 2-1 loss to France unearthing plenty of difficult truths for the five-time World Cup winners.

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Panama will arrive at the iconic Maracana on Sunday in much greater spirits, with the CONCACAF nation preparing for only their second-ever World Cup finals appearance following a fruitless trip to Russia in 2018.

Drawn into a tricky section containing England, Belgium and Tunisia, Los Canaleros failed to pick up a point on the biggest stage in football, yet returned to Central America with plenty of pride and fond memories.

To say that Panama are a different beast eight years on would be an overstatement, however, Thomas Christiansen's troops have made noticeable improvements on their predecessors, reaching the finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2025 Nations League.

During the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup, Los Canaleros enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run (W3 D3), finishing three points clear of Suriname, whose major tournament dreams eventually ended during March's playoffs.

A 1952 Panamerican Championship clash remains the only competitive meeting between Panama and Brazil, with the Selecao unsurprisingly undefeated across all five games against Sunday's visitors to Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil International Friendlies form:

Panama International Friendlies form:

Panama form (all competitions):

Team News

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Starting with the unavoidable topic which is Neymar, the Santos star is expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks after medical tests revealed that the attacker has suffered a calf strain.

As a result, the Selecao's all-time leading goalscorer could miss his side's opening match of the World Cup, increasing the burden on the team's other attackers.

Aiming to win the hearts of the Brazilian public this summer, Vinicius Jr is available to start in attack alongside Matheus Cunha and Raphina.

Premier League duo Rayan and Igor Thiago are both included in Ancelotti's ranks following excellent campaigns at Bournemouth and Brentford respectively.

Due to their involvement in the Champions League final, Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos are yet to link up the Selecao.

Panama are sweating over the fitness of captain Anibal Godoy, with the San Diego FC man picking up a knock earlier this month.

Battling for a spot in between the sticks this summer, Nacional shot-stopper Luis Mejia is nursing a muscular problem.

Brazil possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Danilo, Bremer, Pereira, Sandro; Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Danilo; Vinicius Jr, Cunha, Raphinha

Panama possible starting lineup:

Mosquera; Blackman, Miller, Escobar, Cordoba; Murillo, Harvey, Barcenas; Fajardo, Diaz, Quintero

We say: Brazil 2-0 Panama

At arguably the spiritual home of football, Brazil will be hoping to record a soul-cleansing success over Panama on Sunday.

The Selecao are without their preferred centre-back pairing but should be too powerful for Los Canaleros at the Maracana.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.