Brentford striker Igor Thiago has been called up by Brazil for the first time, with Carlo Ancelotti rewarding a season in which the forward has become one of the Premier League’s standout scorers.
Igor Thiago has earned the first senior Brazil call-up of his career, giving Brentford another significant marker of the striker’s rapid rise this season. Carlo Ancelotti has included the 24-year-old in his squad for Brazil’s March friendlies, with Thiago’s form in west London now strong enough to push him into the international picture for the first time.
It is a notable step for a player whose season has steadily moved from promise to genuine prominence. Thiago has scored 18 Premier League goals for Brentford this term, and his latest strikes in the FA Cup defeat to West Ham took him to 21 in all competitions. In January, he set a record for the most goals scored by a Brazilian in a single Premier League season and has continued to add to his tally since.
Reward for a standout season
Thiago’s call-up is not coming out of nowhere. Brazil’s long-running search for a reliable central striker has left space for players in strong club form to force their way into contention, and Thiago’s profile appears to fit what Ancelotti wants.
That broader context has been building for weeks, suggesting that it is firmly in the conversation ahead of Brazil’s final pre-World Cup tests. FIFA had also identified him in January as one of the players trying to break into Ancelotti’s plans, while Brentford manager Keith Andrews said in January that he believed the forward had the qualities to make Brazil’s World Cup squad.
A turnaround after a difficult start
The call-up also reflects how sharply Thiago’s Brentford story has changed. After arriving from Club Brugge in 2024, he had an injury-hit first year in English football before emerging this season as the focal point of the Bees’ attack. Brentford confirmed his long-term importance last month when the club tied him down to a new deal through to 2031, and his performances since have only strengthened the sense that he is now one of the club’s key players.
Thiago himself had made no secret of what international recognition would mean. Speaking last month, he said representing Brazil would be “the biggest dream” of his life. That ambition is now a reality. For Brentford, it is another sign of how far the striker has come.
For Thiago, that dream has come true. With the 24-year-old now being given his chance to turn an outstanding domestic season into a place on one of football’s biggest stages.