Dodo (Fiorentina) is on the preliminary list. I think he got a call up before, or maybe he was mentioned but didn't (in 2023). I still expect Vanderson and Danilo for now, and they will certainly also be on the preliminary list. The only other ones mentioned in the article are from Flamengo: Gerson, Fabricio Bruno, Leo Ortiz. Very likely Gerson gets called in but the central defenders are just options if the initial choices drop out due to injury. The article also points out Rodrygo has been recovering better than expected: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...l-da-fiorentina-e-novidade-em-pre-lista.ghtml
Endrick out is fine, for a rest, though it's going to generate too much talk. Hopefully that is handled in the press conference today and doesn't distract much later. Murillo instead of Beraldo is a very welcome surprise. Keeping Danilo in there just shows how slowly they move along and how conservative they are (which again, just leads me to say it would be better to call up 25 or 26 names to get another one in in those positions). Keeping Andreas in this call up means a better initial midfield line-up than we had last time, but that still needs so much work.
Rodrygo and Militão went off injured in the Madrid game today. Not looking good for either. They will be cut.
Militão in particular really concerns me, let's hope it's just a painful scare and not a new knee injury. Well, that was wishful thinking... Militão tore his other ACL. Another season gone.
Team is in Belem for training: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...a-em-belem-para-ultima-data-fifa-do-ano.ghtml Raphinha and Abner are expected to be the last arrivals. First match, in Venezuela, is Thursday, second one is next Tuesday against Uruguay.
Today's training session: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...rupo-dividido-e-sem-pistas-de-escalacao.ghtml Just exercise for those who played on Sunday and some drills for those who played Saturday. No real clues as to a line-up, but the article points out that the only big questions are in midfield, where the last 2 matches had different line-ups due to suspension and injury. What combination of Andre, Paqueta, Gerson, Bruno Guimaraes will we get this time? MY guess for the other positions is Ederson; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Abner; ?, ?; Raphinha, Savinho (Luiz Henrique), Vini Jr.; Igor Jesus
Today's press conference included Vanderson and Murillo: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...ia-na-selecao-assumo-a-responsabilidade.ghtml https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...-de-sonho-na-selecao-me-sinto-realizado.ghtml
Tomorrow's match is earlier than usual. 4pm US Eastern time (6pm in Brazil). The line-up was confirmed by Dorival already. Same starting line-up as the Peru match, minus Rodrygo (injured) and with Vini back: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...ra-liberdade-de-movimento-e-fundamental.ghtml Ederson; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Abner; Bruno Guimarães, Gerson, Raphinha; Vini Jr, Igor Jesus, Savinho
Match thread. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/eliminatÓrias-copa-2026-r11-venezuela-x-brasil-11-14-2024.2133288/
https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/fute...a-substituir-vanderson-e-arana-na-selecao.htm Dodo (Fiorentina) called up to replace the suspended Vanderson. Also, Alex Telles called in to replace Arana, who was injured in training. Andre was also injured in training, but it looks like he will be available.
As expected, no changes likely for Uruguay, besides Danilo in for the suspended Vanderson: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...ica-novidade-em-treinamento-em-salvador.ghtml
I haven't been posting much due to life, but I did have some thoughts about the disconnect between the team and the fans (not in the financial sense, which is its whole own story with CBF doubling down on ticket prices) and how there might be something there... just not enough to get Brazilians on board. Just on ge alone, there is a glass half-full take: https://ge.globo.com/blogs/painel-t...a-de-pausa-e-inteligencia-no-meio-campo.ghtml The traditional "time to fire the coach" take: https://ge.globo.com/blogs/blog-do-...-de-trocar-o-tecnico-da-selecao-e-agora.ghtml And this interesting statistical quirk: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/futebo...ao-do-top-10-da-fifa-com-menos-derrotas.ghtml Of the top 10 FIFA ranked teams in the world, Brazil have the fewest losses this year. That's definitely progress compared to 2023, but as the same article points out "por outro lado apresenta o terceiro pior ataque" the 3rd worst offense on that list. I think we all see the "improvement" and agree we're still far behind where we want to be and the offensive stats and the vulnerability at times are what lead to that feeling. But that feeling that us fans have definitely doesn't extend to the team, based on Dorival Jr. and Raphinha's post-match comments. That's ok, I would expect them to highlight the positives. But I also thought the post-match commentary on TNT reflected this disconnect well: On the one hand, the commentators see the progress. On the other, the are like "but it might be too late and we might need to replace Dorival". And these are some of the level-headed commentators. And then there were the comments by Bielsa: https://www.espn.com.br/futebol/sel...ndo-tiver-dois-melhores-jogadores-do-universo Dorival mentioned Bielsa was veyr complimentary, and he wasn't lying. To be fair, besides the hyperbole, I think there's also a lot of just praising our talent on the field. And he says when we have the two best players on the field, referring to Vini and Neymar, probably. And who knows if we'll have Neymar back in conditions to make a difference. But we're in a very weird place. Were it not for 2023's disaster, this campaign would be contrasted directly with Tite's insane success in qualifiers. That would be a very different perspective. But there is enough results-wise and maybe even under the hood, to suggest we might see that improvement next year. Then again, CBF could just hit the panic button or need a distraction and fire him... or we could lose more players to ACL injuries... and never find a midfield... so, we're still not close to where we want to be. It's just... it might be within reach. Maybe?
Just to add to the disconnect between fans and the team ... before the game players were asking for people to show up and show support, but then the ticket prices are R$200 - R$800+ ... I am not sure what they are expecting. They need to start having a conversation with CBF about this if they want a full stadium.
Brazil's inability to score goals at critical moments and games makes me mad because this seems a problem since 2002. At the World Cup quarterfinals Brazil can score only goal.. What the F*ck.
Also, the general consensus is that Vini Jr did not have bad games against Venezuela and Uruguay. I agree with this sentiment and one solution to the lack of goals for Brazil is for Vini Jr to get cooking and start scoring goals. Somehow I have this fantasy where Vini wakes up and goes on a scoring bonanza for Brazil just like he does for R Madrid. Just imagine Vini scoring hat-tricks for Brazil. I hope he gets there soon because that would solve many or Brazil's problems.
My two cents is that we still need more of a 4-4-2 or at least some two-forward system. That benefits Vini and works with the number 9 we need. The issue is, as it has been for a while, the midfield. You can put wingers on the left and right of a 4-2-3-1 and kind of have a 4-4-2 but that's very fragile. Still, that's sort of what we had against Uruguay and it was better.