Brazil XI that will not be playing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
No country on the planet has a relationship with the FIFA World Cup like Brazil does. They are the most successful team in the history of the tournament and the only country to have participated in all the tournaments.
Some of the best performers at the grandest stage are also from Brazil and I’m talking about the likes of Pele, Garrincha and Ronaldo Nazario.
Sadly for Brazil, they’ve had heartbreaks when they hosted the World Cup. They lost the final in 1950 in front of nearly 200,000 people and four years ago, they were humbled 7-1 by eventual winners, Germany, in the semifinal.
As usual, Brazil are among the favourites to lift the trophy in Russia and Tite has already announced the squad that will represent the Selecao. Now because Brazil is a country that churns out talented players constantly, several world class players are bound to miss out. So, on that note, we picked out a Brazilian XI that consists of players who won’t be featuring at the 2018 FIFA World Cup:
Goalkeeper: Neto
After many years, Brazil has not one but two excellent goalkeepers in their squad. Roma’s Alisson Becker is Tite’s preferred #1 with Manchester City’s Ederson having to settle for a backup role!
Coming to the third goalkeeper in the squad, Tite went with Cássio Ramos of Corinthians. It would be unfair to question his decision but Valencia’s Neto also deserved a chance. However, Ramos worked under Tite when he was the manager of Corinthians.
Neto, aged 28, has never been capped at the senior level by Brazil. He was called up to the squad for the 2015 Copa America but only served as an understudy.
The former Fiorentina and Juventus man moved to Valencia at the start of the season and was instrumental as Valencia secured UEFA Champions League qualification after finishing 12th in the previous two seasons!