Why Willian's Chelsea move has jeopardised his World Cup chances

Willian

Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari sprung a surprise by calling up Chelsea winger Willian to the Selecao squad for the friendlies against Honduras and Chile.

The former Anzhi Makhachkala star only joined the Blues this summer, but evidently impressed the veteran coach enough to give him the chance.

“I was always with expectation, hopeful, waiting for an opportunity,” Willian told UOL. “Thank God it happened at this time and I was very happy.

“They [Oscar, Ramires and David Luiz] became very happy when I was called up, they came over, hugged me, told me that this was a happy moment and that I deserved it.”

The reason behind Willian’s summons is obvious, in that Scolari is experimenting with his squad ahead of the 2014 World Cup with much of his squad already decided during last summer’s triumphant Confederations Cup campaign.

Scolari has made it known that there are very few places left up for grabs, and the friendlies will be focused on choosing the players to fill those final spots.

Willian has already made quite the impression on Chelsea fans with a superb strike against Norwich City, but in reality, the midfielder is still yet to settle in London.

A very respectable 87 per cent pass accuracy shows Willian can keep the ball as well as any, but he has fared very poorly in terms of take ons, having only completed one of his five attempts so far.

His shooting is up to scratch with a 75 per cent accuracy and he has laid on four chances for team-mates in five games, but there is a sense that Willian hasn’t quite gone up the gears as of yet.

A combined Squawka Performance Score of 40 over five appearances appears to support that argument, and it is surprising that Scolari has elected to single Willian out for selection.

Adding to the strangeness of the decision, players like FC Porto’s Fernando or Manchester City’s Fernandinho have yet to receive call-ups, with Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva and Willian getting in instead.

The Selecao boss has made his share of bizarre decisions in his tenure already, although there has been very little criticism of such moves after the Confederations Cup triumph in June.

In reality however, Scolari is just selecting players to see how they cope with the pressures of playing for Brazil for future reference, as he likely already has his first team and substitutes bench earmarked.