Douglas Santos is among the 26 players called up by Brazil’s coach Carlo Ancelotti for the 2026 World Cup.
An Unexpected Call-Up
The left-back was something of a surprise inclusion for the matches against Chile and Bolivia in September of last year.
Santos was born on 26 March 1994. The defender will compete for a starting place in the World Cup with Alex Sandro.
In five appearances for Brazil, the Zenit player has yet to score.
Early Career
Douglas Santos turned professional with CSP. He then moved to Náutico to continue in their youth system.
In 2013, while playing for Náutico, he was called up by Luiz Felipe Scolari for a friendly against Bolivia. On that occasion, the Brazil squad consisted only of players from Brazilian football.
Olympic Gold in Rio
In 2016, while at Atlético-MG, he made his first significant appearances for Brazil. He came on as a substitute in a victory over Panama in a friendly in May.
He started all six games in the campaign that saw Brazil win gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics, providing two assists in a 4-0 victory over Denmark. He was also in Dunga’s squad for the Copa América Centenário in the United States.
Move to Europe
Following the Olympics, he moved to Hamburg, where he remained from 2016/17 until the end of 2018/19.
After three years in Germany, he signed for Zenit, where he is under contract until June of next year.
Titles in Russia
In seven seasons in Russia, he has won several trophies. Prior to his move, he had only won the Copa do Brasil in 2014 and the Campeonato Mineiro in 2015, both with Atlético-MG.
He has now won six Russian league titles. The only title he missed out on was in 2024/25, when Krasnodar won the league. He has also won the Russian Cup twice and the Russian Super Cup five times. However, his statistics this season have been modest, with just 24 appearances and one goal.
Return to the National Team
After falling out of favour with Brazilian fans, he was recalled for the recent World Cup qualifiers. He started in the 3-0 win over Chile but did not feature in the defeat to Bolivia.
Subsequently, he started in three friendly matches: wins against South Korea and Croatia, and a defeat to France.