World Cup : The remarkable journey of Igor Thiago, from bricklayer's assistant to the Brazilian national team

It is now official. Carlo Ancelotti has named his 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup. And while one name on that list may go largely unnoticed by the casual observer, there is perhaps no player who better deserves attention than Igor Thiago.

The centre-forward might be considered a surprise inclusion. He made his debut for Brazil only in the March international window after a brilliant season at Brentford, and failed to make an impression as a substitute in the defeat to France. He was given a second chance from the bench against Croatia.

Os 26 escolhidos de Carlo Ancelotti ??⚽

Com Neymar, a seleção brasileira está convocada para a Copa do Mundo. São esses os caras que vão lutar pelo nosso HEXA!

Mudaria algo na convocação? Conta nos comentários ?#Brasil #CBF #SelecaoBrasileira #CopaDoMundo pic.twitter.com/4L5zfWEFMz
— Trivela (@trivela) May 18, 2026

Having knocked Brazil out in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, Croatia inflicted further pain by equalising in the final minutes to reopen the wounds of that penalty shootout in Qatar. As the clock ticked towards stoppage time, however, Endrick won a penalty that could hand Brazil victory.

Endrick also wanted to take it, this was his first opportunity to impress Ancelotti with the senior squad. But the manager ordered Igor Thiago to step forward instead. As he took the ball from Endrick, the Brazil number 21 was booed by his own supporters, who could not understand the change.

Under that pressure from the people who should have been supporting him, Igor Thiago held his nerve and scored his first goal for Brazil. The celebration that followed was an explosion of raw emotion. Some may have felt it was an overreaction, after all, it was only a friendly.

For the striker, however, it was the most important moment of his career. With such fierce competition for attacking places, a miss could have opened the door for a rival to jump ahead of him in the race for a spot in North America. But Igor Thiago did not shy away from the responsibility. He never has.

Like so many great Brazilian stories, this is one of a man who overcame the harshest of circumstances, forged his own path through football's alternative routes and ultimately reached the pinnacle: a World Cup with Brazil.

Igor Thiago's personal battles to become a professional footballer

In the country of football, Igor Thiago was another boy who dreamed of playing professionally, inspired largely by his brother Maycon, 15 years his senior. Born in 2001 in Gama, a satellite city of Brasilia, the forward grew up in a family of modest means but with non-negotiable values: focus on education and being a good person.

At 13, however, he suffered a personal blow that would change everything, the death of his father. For any child, it is devastating. For a teenager, the impact is beyond description. Speaking to ESPN, he admitted that losing the man who had been the closest figure in his life, his role model as he grew up, was the hardest moment he had ever experienced.

'He was everything to me. He was a constant presence in my life. He was someone who taught me how to be a man and to value what life gives you. He gave me purpose and support' — he said in January this year.

While grieving, the young Igor also faced severe financial hardship. His mother Maria Diva worked as a street cleaner, but her wage was not enough to support the household alone. He recalled times when there was no food and no clothes, and when the electricity was cut off for non-payment.

'My mother earned a minimum wage and could not support four people. I tried to help in every way I could. Sometimes we had nothing to eat or nothing to wear. We had to borrow, and we were humiliated, even by relatives' — he told ESPN in March 2024.

Igor's reality is that of millions of other children in a Brazil that continues to fight a long battle against social inequality. In that environment, he watched friends drawn into crime in pursuit of a better life. He did not follow.

With the support of Maycon, Maria Diva and Sergio, his childhood coach, Igor Thiago chose to contribute to the family finances without going down the wrong road. He began working young, as a bricklayer's assistant, a market stall worker, and a supermarket leaflet distributor.

At the same time, he kept trying to find a club, but rejection after rejection at trials pushed him further from his goal. With so many social and financial barriers to overcome, the young Igor, frustrated, stopped training altogether. It was his mother who played a crucial role in stopping him giving up.

'My mother gave me the strength not to abandon my dreams. She gave me the energy to carry on. She asked me not to give up because of a promise I had made to her a long time ago' — he said in January.

With his family's backing, Igor Thiago began training at home, running 10 kilometres every day. At Gremio Ocidental, a community project in Cidade Ocidental in the state of Goias near Brasilia, he was invited to join the youth set-up at Vere, a club that would prove crucial in helping him reach his dream of playing professional football.

Away from his family for the first time, Igor Thiago excelled in Vere's under-17 side, a club competing in the third tier of the Parana state championship — winning the state title in his category in 2018. He led Vere to their first-ever youth title as top scorer with 13 goals, and the performance caught the attention of one of Brazil's biggest clubs.

A difficult start at Cruzeiro

In 2019, Igor Thiago took a huge step in his career by signing with Cruzeiro. A chance to join the academy of a major Brazilian club is afforded to only a tiny fraction of the millions of boys who chase that dream. Another rung climbed.

The start of his professional journey was far from straightforward, however. That season, he watched Cruzeiro suffer relegation from the Brasileirao for the first time in the club's history, a sporting failure compounded by severe financial crisis.

In that chaotic environment, Igor Thiago was given his chance in the first team to help the club fight their way back to the top flight. Access to the second division did not materialise. Amid the natural inconsistency of a young player finding his feet, the centre-forward came close to walking away.

'There are things nobody knows that I went through at Cruzeiro. I would think to myself: tomorrow I will crash my car and that will be that, because I do not care, nobody values me' — he confessed in the same ESPN interview.

He did eventually earn a run in the side during the following Série B campaign, scoring four goals in 2021, but Cruzeiro again fell short of promotion. During that period, the club underwent transformation into a privately owned structure, attracting investment that would later prove crucial to their return to the top flight.

Igor Thiago was not part of that revival, however. He became the first sale of Ronaldo's new ownership, then 20 years old, he joined Ludogorets of Bulgaria for $700,000. In all, he made 64 appearances and scored ten goals in an unspectacular but formative spell with the first team.

Success in Bulgaria and Belgium: football's alternative route

Brazilian players have long been present not only in the world's elite leagues but also in smaller markets. Like Igor Thiago, hundreds of fellow Brazilians take that alternative path with the hope of eventually reaching the top.

Bulgaria was his entry point into European football, a place where he could change his family's circumstances and finally demonstrate his true value as a footballer. Not even the climate, language and culture held him back. He adapted quickly, convinced Ludogorets he deserved more opportunities and was part of the squad that won the Bulgarian title in 2021-22.

The following season, Igor Thiago became the team's main attacking reference as they completed a domestic treble — league, cup and super cup. He contributed 20 goals and 11 assists, and the impact was felt well beyond the Balkans.

In June 2023, Club Brugge paid £6m (€7m) for the Brazilian. Belgium proved a similar story: wearing the number 99 shirt, Igor Thiago led the club to the Jupiler Pro League title and a Conference League semi-final in 2023-24. The top Brazilian scorer in Europe that season, the centre-forward found the net 29 times and added six assists.

From a rare injury to a Premier League record at Brentford

Igor Thiago's exceptional rise did not go unnoticed by the major leagues. In February 2024, Brentford announced the signing of the Brazilian from Club Brugge for a club-record £30m — Brentford had never before signed a Brazilian player.

The Bees had been building a reputation in the Premier League for identifying promising players from unconventional clubs and selling them on to the elite. This was the perfect opportunity for Igor Thiago to prove himself in the most competitive league in the world.

During pre-season ahead of 2024-25, however, he suffered a meniscus injury to his knee, requiring surgery and 126 days of recovery.

Cleared by the medical department, Igor Thiago made his official debut in November and featured in his first four appearances for Brentford, only to miss further time with a joint infection, a problem considered extremely rare.

'The risk of getting a joint infection is very, very small, but apparently it is the opposite when you are a Brentford player — instead of a two per cent chance, it is a 98 per cent chance' — boss Thomas Frank said at the time.

As a result, Igor Thiago missed a further 147 days. He returned only in the final stages of 2024-25. The physical setbacks limited the number nine to just eight appearances in his debut season at the Bees, without a single direct goal contribution.

But having been tested his entire life, Igor Thiago refused to let another obstacle stop him. The departures of Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and Yoane Wissa to Newcastle left Brentford's goalscoring duties in his hands, and he embraced the responsibility.

His first goal came on the opening day of the current Premier League season. Then another. Then another. When nobody was backing him, he was named November's Player of the Month as his race for the Golden Boot against Erling Haaland of Manchester City gripped English football.

That purple patch proved crucial to Brentford's push for a historic first qualification for European football. Meanwhile, Igor Thiago was closing in on the Brazilian record for goals in a single Premier League season, previously shared by Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Martinelli and Matheus Cunha at 15 apiece.

In January, with half the campaign still to play, he passed it. He now stands at 22 Premier League goals this season, a tally that commands respect among the greatest goalscorers at Europe's biggest clubs. Igor Thiago was duly nominated for Premier League Player of the Season for 2025-26.

Why Igor Thiago could prove vital for Brazil at the World Cup

Standing at 6ft 3in, the forward stands out for his physical strength, stride and explosive pace, all crucial qualities for a reference point in the penalty area. The debate over Brazil's lack of a true number nine has run for generations, and Igor Thiago fits that profile.

For all that Ancelotti favours a mobile front line, with Matheus Cunha free to move and create space for Vinicius Junior, Brentford's top scorer has the potential to be a game-changer when a World Cup match becomes tight and scrappy — whether the ball is in the air or on the floor.

And those who think Igor Thiago is simply a target man are mistaken. The 24-year-old regularly drops deep to offer passing options, drawing a centre-back with him and creating space for a team-mate to advance at speed. For a Brazil side packed with quick wide forwards, that selfless movement could prove crucial in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Capable of making penetrating runs in behind, the Brentford number nine has sharp positional instincts near goal, his movement behind defenders consistently placing him in excellent finishing positions. Within the national squad, he is one of the few options who can genuinely alter Brazil's approach in the final third.

To win a World Cup, a team must be prepared for any situation the opposition creates. Igor Thiago has been shaped by adversity from the very beginning — equipped to handle whatever obstacle comes his way. Sometimes, life — or a football match — does not make things easy. But Igor Thiago has never needed it to.