Estevão, the newest gem in Brazilian football and the first to join the squad for the World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay, expressed his excitement about playing alongside players he’s looked up to for a long time.

“It’s going to be a pleasure to play with footballers I admire so much, and I hope to learn a lot,” said the 17-year-old Palmeiras winger in an interview with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) TV as he arrived to meet coach Dorival Júnior.

At just 17 years and three months, Estevão is the fifth youngest player ever called up to the Brazilian national team, following in the footsteps of Endrick, now with Real Madrid and a former teammate at Palmeiras, as well as legends like Pelé, Coutinho, and Edu, who made history with the Seleção and Santos FC back in the 1960s.

“You always dream of being called up to the national team, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” he admitted. The young talent said he’s thrilled and living a dream, though he also confessed to feeling pretty nervous and experiencing “a mix of emotions.”

Estevão, already secured by Chelsea, was the first of the 23 called-up players to arrive on Monday at the Athletico Paranaense Training Center in Curitiba, where Brazil will prepare for Friday’s match against Ecuador.

The player had been in Curitiba since the day before, where Palmeiras beat Athletico Paranaense 2-0 in a Brazilian Championship match, with Estevão himself scoring one of the goals. Dorival Júnior is set to lead his first training session on Monday, with at least 14 players who had already arrived in Curitiba by early afternoon.

The coach stated that he expects "important" results in the September 6th match against Ecuador in Curitiba and the September 10th match against Paraguay in Asunción to kickstart a comeback for a Brazil team under scrutiny for its poor standing in the qualifiers.

After a string of poor results last year, Brazil’s World Cup qualification is in jeopardy as they currently sit sixth in the standings with 7 points, a disappointing record of two wins, one draw, and three losses, far behind Argentina, who leads with 15 points.

The Seleção is also coming off another setback, having been knocked out in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa América in the U.S. by Uruguay.