Seleção General Discussion, 2018 and beyond

I only heard they wanted him to be Tite's "Zagallo" (as in 94) on JPs Esporte em Discussão. There wasn't much detail, just that an offer had been made. But for now, with the audio leaked of Muricy criticizing Sao Paulo, it looks like he is going to stay with them at least for now.

As for CONMEBOL's participation UEFA Nations League, I am not convinced SA teams (and ours) is that we haven't been playing against them anymore other than WC. I mean, we stopped performing vs them before the Nations League was introduced. We were still playing the "almost competitive" Confed Cup with a couple of UEFA teams since 2005 and that's when the distancing started happening. The problem IMO lies somewhere else and is a combination of things. I mean, most our players play in Europe with European style football. It's not like our players are not used to it. Perhaps that leaves coaching as a culprit. I mean, it may make a difference, but I just don't think that has ever been the main culprit for our lack of success as many point out.

Having said that, I am not completely sure it will happen yet. Could be just a threat because FIFA wants to do a 2 year WC cycle as you mentioned.

 

Most leagues are on break right now, except England. First weekend in January will see La Liga back.

The likeliest call-up date is January 14th (7th is unlikely), less than three weeks away. Danilo is still unlikely. Dani Alves is going to miss his first Barça game back due to COVID. Meanwhile Émerson has been doing well since Conte took over at Tottenham and I think he will grow a lot between now and the WC.

I do expect Dani Alves to be called up as he should recover in time, but I kind of hope he won't just to see who else is on the radar.

Man Utd's new coach will likely be good for Brazil too. Fred is already a lock for Tite, but the prospect of playing under Rangnick must sound great for Tite and his "perde, pressiona".

Additionally, with Luke Shaw out injured Alex Telles got has been starting. Not likely to change anything at left-back but could be good for depth.

Thiago Silva could miss some matches, but should be back in time for the call-up.

There was speculation of Raphael Veiga getting his shot. I could see it happening now, but I'm not sure we'll see players in Brazil in this call-up since it's offseason. Arthur has been getting starts at Juve so he could get the welcome back call. Coutinho however has clearly not convinced Xavi. A call-up could happen since Tite loves him but it would generate a lot of flak.

Maybe Lucas Moura's continued reliability and occasional star performances at Tottenham could get him back on the radar and Conte could be a factor for Tite here too.

Globo Esporte continues to do their "radar da seleção" every week:
https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...balho-firme-por-espaco-no-grupo-de-tite.ghtml

I love making predictions, but it all hinges on whether offseason in Brazil means no domestic players in this call-up.

• Safe bet for 4th CD is Gabriel. If T. Silva is out, safe bet is Felipe, maybe a Diego Carlos. Ibañez is on the radar but with talk of Italy calling him it may be too late.
• RB could be interesting if both Danilo and Dani Alves are unavailable but likely Dani Alves will be.
• LB probably also depends on the offseason - Arana or Lodi? With Telles on the outside I guess.
• Midfield could see Bruno Guimarães back and then there's a big question mark for the Lucas Paquetá back-up spot. Safe bet might be Arthur.
• Up front, Neymar might not be back in time. I expect Richarlison back, Gabriel Jesus as a back-up to Cunha at the 9 spot and the 3 wingers that were there last time. (Raphinha, Antony, Vini Jr.)

 

Vini Jr and Lucas Paquetá have tested positive for COVID this week.

 

The latest summary from ge:
https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...lodi-e-gerson-vao-bem-na-entrada-do-ano.ghtml

I won't make a long post this week as there's really not much new and the most relevant detail for the next call-up is whether or not players in Brazil will be selected.

Call-up should be Friday, January 14 as that follows the 2-week pattern used in October and November. Previously Tite was calling the team 3 weeks ahead of time, but there's no indication they'll go back to that yet.

 

Article today indicates the call-up should include 25 or 26 players:
https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...e-26-nomes-para-volta-das-eliminatorias.ghtml

The preliminary list, which we don't see (but we have seen some leaks from) will be submitted Friday. The announcement will be next week.

Suspended (1 match):
Fabinho, Paquetá

Pendurados:
Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Eder Militão, Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Gerson, Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus, Gabigol

Injury doubts:
Danilo, Richarlison, Neymar

As for players in Brazil, it looks like a case by case basis. For example, the article suggests Gabigol's decision to return early is in part to secure a call-up.

I don't think we'll see a 3rd GK from Europe if they're willing to call some players from Brazil. Maybe we'll also see Raphael Veiga or Renato Augusto after all, since Paquetá is suspended and Tite sees that position as the biggest issue.

 

FIFA fined Brazil and Argentina for separate incidents in November, but still no word about the suspended match.

https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/fute...a-pune-argentina-por-jogo-contra-o-brasil.htm

Argentina fined and punished for discriminatory chants in the game against Brazil.

Brazil fined for allowing a pitch invasion in the match against Colombia.

In other news, the call-up has been set for Thursday, Jan 13, instead of the usual Friday.

 

Takes this long to make a decision on that game ?

 

At this point I'm wondering if they are just going to wait until the end of the qualifiers to make as little noise as possible.

CONMEBOL qualifying ends on March 29 and the draw for the WC is April 3, so an announcement then would be overshadowed by bigger news very quickly.