Nottingham Forest defender Jair Cunha has spoken about his first Brazil call-up, describing it as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
The 21-year-old was already confirmed as one of Carlo Ancelotti’s new faces for the upcoming international break. Now, Globo Esporte have brought his first reaction and some details of what comes next.
“This moment represents the fulfilment of a lifelong dream,” Jair said.
“From a very young age, my family and I dedicated ourselves to experiencing what I’m experiencing today.”
“There were many sacrifices, a lot of work and countless challenges in pursuit of becoming a professional footballer and one day representing the Brazilian national team.”
“That dream is now real and I hope to make the most of this opportunity, so moments like this can happen more and more often.”
A long trip awaits the Forest defender
Jair will have quite a journey ahead of him during the international break. Brazil first face Australia in Townsville on September 25. The match will take place at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Ancelotti’s side then travel to Brisbane for another meeting with Australia four days later. That one will be played at the Suncorp Stadium.
There is another considerable trip after that. Brazil face India at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 3. It will be the first ever meeting between Brazil and India.
So Nottingham Forest will be hoping Jair returns from a fairly unusual international break in good shape. There is plenty of travelling involved before he gets back to England.
Forest move has quickly pushed him forward
The call-up also says something about how Jair’s first weeks at Nottingham Forest have gone. After being constantly linked with an exit, he started all four of their matches at the beginning of the season. That has given Ancelotti and his staff an immediate look at the defender in Premier League football.
The 1.98m centre-back already had experience with Brazil’s youth teams. He represented the country at the 2025 South American U20 Championship. Now he’s already getting his chance with the senior Brazil squad.
Globo Esporte point out there are seven other first-time call-ups in Ancelotti’s latest selection. That makes this part of a wider attempt to look at new players at the beginning of the 2030 World Cup cycle.
He’s earned his place through his early Nottingham Forest performances and now has three matches on the other side of the world to convince Ancelotti he should keep getting these calls.
