'Dream come true' - Ibanez, Fabinho get Brazil FIFA World Cup nod!

The Roshn Saudi League will be represented in the Brazil national team for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup after both Roger Ibanez and Fabinho were included in the record winners’ squad for the finals.

Confirmation of the Jeddah-based duo’s call-up came early on Tuesday, when Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti named both in his 26-man list for the tournament in North America.

Al Ahli’s Ibanez, a star performer in both the RSL and this season’s AFC Champions League Elite, earned a recall to the Brazil team for the March international break - his first call-up in three years. He will compete at a World Cup for the very first time.

Posting on social media immediately after Tuesday’s announcement, Ibanez wrote: "This is definitely the meaning of dream come true. [In] 2020 I said it openly, 2022 I kept quiet, but 2026 the story will be different.

"It is with great gratitude that I look back and am proud of the journey so far. I know I did a lot to be in this select group. And it is a huge honour.

"Thank you to my family, my friends, my teammates who were part of this walk. I will do everything possible to bring the sixth star to Brazil. This is my lifelong dream to be in a World Cup… God bless Brazil!"

This season - his third in the Saudi Arabian top flight - Ibanez has featured 28 times in the RSL, proving pivotal to Al Ahli's third-placed finish.

The back-to-back Asian champions, who last month became the first side in more than two decades to retain the continent’s premier club prize, boast the best defensive record in the 2025-26 RSL, conceding 24 goals in 33 matches.

Ibanez, 27, will be joined at next month's World Cup by RSL counterpart Fabinho. The Al Ittihad captain, who participated for Brazil at the most recent global finals in Qatar, has been rewarded for his stellar RSL season in which he’s guided the reigning Saudi champions to the brink of a top-five finish.

In all, Fabinho has featured in 30 RSL matches this term. Last month, he told the Saudi Pro League of his desire to make Ancelotti’s squad for the June 11-July 19 tournament, which takes place in North America, Mexico and Canada.

Reacting on Tuesday to confirmation of that wish, Fabinho posted on social media: "Another opportunity to live one of the greatest honours of my life: to play a World Cup for my country.

"Today and always grateful to God! Let's go!"

Drawn in Group C alongside Morocco, Scotland and Haiti, the Brazil pair are expected to line up at the finals against fellow RSL stars such as Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bono and Al Ettifaq defender Jack Hendry.