Hammers midfielder Lucas Paquetá has been named in Brazil's 26-man squad for their upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan later this month.
Our No10 has enjoyed a stellar start to the 2025/26 season, registering three goals in his first seven appearances in all competitions, and after winning his 56th and 57th caps for his country against Chile and Bolivia in September and scoring in the former, he has once again been called up by national team boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Having already secured a spot at next year's FIFA World Cup, with a fifth-place finish in the CONMEBOL qualifying table, the five-time global champions are set for a trip to East Asia for two exhibition encounters in October.
First up, Paquetá and his teammates will take on South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 12noon BST on Friday 10 October, before travelling to the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo to face Japan at 11.30am BST on Tuesday 14 October.
South Korea and Japan incidentally were the hosts of the 2002 World Cup, where Brazil lifted the coveted trophy for the fifth and most recent time. Following wins over Turkey, China and Costa Rica in their group, and Belgium, England and Turkey again in the knockouts, Luiz Felipe Scolari's side then famously defeated Germany 2-0 in the Yokohama final.
