National coach Carlo Ancelotti says the Brazilian Football Confederation is set to extend his contract through the 2030 World Cup.

The 66-year-old Italian took over Brazil last May, contracted until the 2026 World Cup, and has noted in interviews that he would like to have the job for a four-year World Cup cycle.

Ancelotti said on Monday that neither he, nor the CBF "have any issues to extend the deal".

He replaced Dorival Junior at the helm after a particularly painful 4-1 loss to continental rival Argentina, and had to scramble quickly to complete South American qualifying for the World Cup. Ancelotti has since presided over 14 wins, 10 draws and nine losses on the way to guiding the Selecao to a World Cup spot.

"When a couple wants to carry on, I think there's no problem,"Ancelotti said at a news conference at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. "Either before or after the next World Cup, we will make this extension official."

He was there to announce his latest squad for friendlies against France and Croatia this month.

The former AC Milan and Real Madrid coach, a five-time Champions League winner, jokingly said he talked to CBF officials about the benefit of extending his contract sooner rather than later.

"(Extending) before the World Cup will be cheaper, afterwards it will be more expensive," Ancelotti quipped.

"I am very confident."

Neymar, Brazil's all-time top scorer with 79 goals, was left out of the friendlies in the United States this month.

The 34-year-old former captain has struggled to be fit since he tore his ACL in October 2023.

Brazil will play France in Boston on March 26 and Croatia in Orlando four days later.

Brazil starts its bid for a sixth World Cup title, and a first since 2002, against Morocco in New Jersey on June 13, before also facing Haiti and Scotland in Group C.

"I haven't called (Neymar) up, because he's not 100 percent,"Ancelotti told reporters.

"But for the final (World Cup) squad, that's another story," the 66-year-old added.

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo and Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes are also sidelined through injury.

Endrick, 19, made the last of his 14 international appearances a year ago, but has earned a recall thanks to an impressive string of performances since joining French club Lyon on loan from Real Madrid.

Ancelotti brought Endrick to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2024 from Palmeiras.

The Italian has also selected two uncapped players in Brentford striker Igor Thiago and Bournemouth teenager Rayan.

'Upset and sad'

Neymar didn't play well on Sunday in Santos' 1-1 draw with Corinthians in the Brazilian league.

Hours later, Neymar told the media at an event in Sao Paulo he was "upset and sad" at not being named in Brazil's squad for the two friendlies.

"But my focus remains, day after day, training and training, match after match," he said.

"We will reach our goal, there's still the final squad," Neymar said.

Brazil's matches against France and Croatia in the US will, in turn, be the last two games before Ancelotti announces his final squad on May 18 for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.

The team's final warm-up match will be on May 31 against Panama in Rio de Janeiro.

Neymar's performance against Corinthians came after he missed a match against Mirassol on Tuesday attended by the Brazil coach.

Local media reports said Ancelotti was not informed about the striker's absence until a few hours before the game at the Jose Maria de Campos Maia Stadium.

On Sunday, Memphis Depay opened the scoring for Corinthians in the 19th minute at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium.

Gabriel Barbosa equalized four minutes later.

Neymar's best chance in Sunday's game was a second-half header that narrowly missed. The Santos striker struggled to dribble and didn't have a shot on goal.

Two staffers from Brazil's soccer confederation reportedly attended the match in Santos, the club said.

"I wish to get back into the national team and play in the World Cup, but that's not up to me," a disappointed Neymar told reporters after the match.

"Whether I am there or not, I will always cheer for Brazil."

Neymar suffered an ACL injury in October 2023 and went through another knee surgery in December.

He has played fewer than 10 matches for Santos this year, but he has also shown glimpses of what he could still bring to Brazil.

In February, he broke into the top 10 of Santos club's all-time leading scorers after scoring twice in a 2-1 win against Vasco da Gama in the Brazilian league.

Fans of Neymar fear that his decision to miss the Mirassol match might have ended the star's hopes of attending his fourth consecutive World Cup.