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Weaknesses
Brazil’s starting left-back is likely to be Wendell, who has put together a good couple of seasons at Porto but is inexperienced in the international game, having only made his senior debut in March. The jury is out on whether he is the solution to what has been a problem position over the past few years.
Wendell could be a weak link for Brazil (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)Thing you didn’t know
Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Joao Gomes is not just brave in the tackle; he has also spoken engagingly about the social anxiety that he endured as a child due to a prominent stammer. “I missed out on a lot of things in my life due to fear,” the 23-year-old told The Athletic last November. “Fear of what others would think of me, what they would say. That fear limits you. You close yourself up in a bubble.”
Today, Gomes is much more at ease with himself: “I realised that I have a lot to give to other people. God gave me a lot of good attributes so I could share them with others. I started to see that as an obligation. Maybe one day he will say, ‘From now on, you will speak fluently’. But there is a reason for everything. It’s not a big deal.”
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Expectations back home
It is vanishingly rare for the side known as the Selecao (the selection) to arrive at a tournament without a big, looming cloud of obligation in tow. Brazilian fans can be exceptionally demanding, and not always — not even often — in a manner that benefits their team.
Against that backdrop, the run-up to this Copa America has been refreshingly breezy. With no Neymar, no Casemiro and no Thiago Silva, this is not just a younger, fresher squad; it is also one with fewer bad memories, less psychological scar tissue, less accumulated trauma. There is a levity to the mood, among players and fans alike.
Dorival deserves huge credit for this. He will also be well aware that the momentum can shift in a fraction of a second — and that tournament football has its own internal gravity. When the Copa America kicks off on Thursday (early Friday UK time), the usual expectations will probably kick in, and anything less than a spot in the semi-finals will be regarded as an abject failure.
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Brazil’s Copa America squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Athletico Paranaense), Rafael (Sao Paolo)
Defenders: Lucas Beraldo (Paris Saint-Germain), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Manchester City), Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro), Wendell (Porto)
Midfielders: Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Joao Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United), Pepe (Porto), Ederson (Atalanta)
Forwards: Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savio (Troyes), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: John Bradford)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5548496/2024/06/16/brazil-copa-america-team-guide/
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Publish date : 2024-06-16 06:32:11
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