RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — West Ham midfielder Lucas Paquetá was summoned by Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti for the first time on Monday for the last two World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia next month.
Paquetá has already played five qualifiers in the campaign but not for Brazil since Ancelotti took charge in May. The coach said he wants to get to know him better.
Paquetá was cleared last month of spot-fixing charges brought against him by the English Football Association two years ago. He scored for West Ham on Friday in the 5-1 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League.
Brazil has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, and strikers Neymar, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo were left out of the latest squad.
Neymar suffered a muscle injury in training last Thursday, his Santos club said.
Asked about the absence of Neymar, who has received more playing time for Santos in the last two months, Ancelotti said, “We don’t need to test him.”
Brazil, third in South American qualifying, hosts eliminated Chile at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 4. Five days later, Brazil is at Bolivia, which is fighting for a spot in the international qualifying playoffs.
Brazil:
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Al-Nassr), Hugo Souza (Corinthians)
Defenders: Alexsandro (Lille), Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Caio Henrique (Monaco), Vanderson (Monaco), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Fabricio Bruno (Cruzeiro), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Marquinhos (Paris Saint Germain), Wesley (Roma)
Midfielders: Andrey Santos (Chelsea), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Joelinton (Newcastle), Lucas Paquetá (West Ham)
Forwards: Estêvão (Chelsea), João Pedro (Chelsea), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Raphinha (Barcelona), Richarlison (Tottenham)
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Brazil's Neymar walk onto the pitch during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, file)
West Ham's Lucas Paqueta celebrates after scoring during the Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and West Ham in London, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — It was Georgia's day at the European figure skating championships Thursday.
Skaters representing the former Soviet nation won the pairs gold medal and took the lead in the men's event at the championships, a key warmup for next month's Winter Olympics.
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava recovered from a fall to win their first European title after silver in 2024 and bronze last year.
The Georgians had the lead from Wednesday's short program and, even though Metelkina fell on a triple toeloop, the rest of their free skate was strong to score 139.80 for a total 215.76.
The two skaters laid on their backs on the ice in relief after finishing their free skate, as Berulava pumped his fists and made a snow angel gesture.
The title defense of Germany's Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin ended with an erratic free skate. Hase fell on a throw triple loop and tumbled to the ice again when Volodin tried to lower her down from their final lift.
Hase seemed in pain as she waited for the scores, and then stunned to see that she and Volodin had scored enough to stay ahead overall of third-place Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary, 203.87 to 202.56.
Georgian figure skater Nika Egadze edged ahead of two Estonian brothers to take the lead in the men's short program.
Egadze scored 91.28 points for the lead after starting his program with a bang, following up a quadruple salchow-triple toeloop combination with a quad toeloop.
That was enough to beat last year's silver medalist Aleksandr Selevko on 88.71 and his younger brother Mihhail on 88.28. Defending champion Lukas Britschgi was sixth for Switzerland.
Estonia is on track for more medals as Niina Petrokina leads the women's event ahead of Friday's free skate.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics
Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko competes during the Men's Short Program on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, Thursday, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Georgia's Nika Egadze competes during the Men's Short Program on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, Thursday, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava compete during the Pairs Free Skating on day two of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
