Fabinho has earned his first call-up to the Brazil squad in almost three years, having not been involved for his country since before he left Liverpool in 2023.
Fabinho‘s last involvement for Brazil came in the mid-season World Cup in 2022, when he played just once in five games.
Brazil were knocked out of that tournament by Croatia in the quarter-finals, with manager Tite departing soon after to begin a revolving door of coaches which has now seen Carlo Ancelotti take charge.
Ancelotti has used the early months of his reign to test out the players available to him, and this time out that has seen him include Fabinho.
The 32-year-old is part of the 26-man squad to play friendlies against Senegal in London (Nov 15) and Tunisia in Lille (Nov 18) later this month.
Explaining his decision to recall Fabinho, Ancelotti told outlets including Globo Esporte: “I want to find a profile that fits Casemiro’s characteristics.
“We have very good midfielders with different defensive profiles compared to Casemiro.
“Fabinho has that characteristic, the structure and knowledge of the position. And also the experience.
“He’s a player who is playing and has played at a very high level in Europe.”
Fabinho left Liverpool after five successful years in 2023 to join Saudi side Al-Ittihad, with whom he is now into his third season and won the Saudi Pro League and King’s Cup double last term.
He has made 80 appearances for the Jeddah club, including 12 as captain, largely operating in his natural defensive midfield role but also at times as a centre-back.
His departure to Saudi Arabia came after a difficult final campaign on Merseyside, which saw him struggle to reach the physical standards he set following his arrival from Monaco.
How Klopp talk convinced Fabinho to leave
Speaking to the Guardian‘s Thiago Rabelo in August, Fabinho revealed discussing the offer from Al-Ittihad with Jurgen Klopp and how the manager “opened the door” for him to leave.
“He called me and asked me what I wanted,” he explained.
“I said that I’d heard the offer and liked it but that I wanted to hear from him what he thought. He said that if there are any players who want to leave, he won’t hold them back.
“It was a speech that kind of opened the door for me to leave. That conversation with the coach could have kept me at the club but he left it open and I didn’t like it very much.
“I always like to do a prayer before I make my decisions. Liverpool is a club I love but the things that happened at the time steered my life towards Arabia. I left in peace and happy with my decision.”
Alisson has been left out of the Brazil squad for November as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.