Paquetá leads Agora Brasil call-up for 2026 World Cup
Lucas Paquetá is in Brazil's squad for the 2026 World Cup in North America agora, after a return to the national team setup that had been interrupted by investigations linked to yellow cards in Premier League matches. The 28-year-old midfielder carries 61 appearances and 13 goals for Brazil, so this is not a fringe recall. It is a selection with sporting weight and a disciplinary shadow.
Paquetá and Brazil's 61 caps
Paquetá has played for Brazil since 2018. He was part of the 2019 Copa América-winning squad against Peru, and he also played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Those numbers explain why his name still carries real value inside a tournament squad: 61 matches is a long national-team record, and 13 goals from midfield is production Brazil has already used in competitive games.
His strongest stretch for Brazil came between 2021 and 2022. He scored the goal in the 2-0 win over Peru in September 2021 that secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup. He also scored and controlled midfield in the 4-0 win over Chile in March 2022. Against South Korea at the 2022 World Cup, he put in one of his best performances in a major tournament.
2023 removal and return
Brazil removed him from squads in 2023 after he was named in English FA investigations tied to suspected sports betting involving yellow cards in Premier League matches. He missed three consecutive Brazil call-ups because of that situation. Dorival Júnior brought him back in March 2024, and he later joined Brazil's squad at the 2024 Copa América. He was cleared in 2025.
That sequence matters because the call-up is not just a reward for form. It is also a return after a period in which national-team selection was blocked by an off-field case. For Brazil, the decision is a bet on a player who has already delivered in qualifying and in major tournaments, but whose recent history also includes a gap created by the investigation.
Flamengo and the 2026 squad
Paquetá returned to Flamengo in 2026 and played 20 matches, scored 7 goals and won the Campeonato Carioca. Flamengo paid an estimated R$260 million for him in 2026, the most expensive transfer in Brazilian football history. That price tag and the output give Brazil a player who arrives with club rhythm, not just memory.
He was revealed by Flamengo and stood out in the 2017 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior and the 2017 Campeonato Carioca. He left the club in 2018 and later played for Milan, Olympique Lyonnais and West Ham. Brazil now has a midfielder who has already been through the pressure of a World Cup, and the remaining question is simple: how far up the squad hierarchy he sits once the tournament starts.
