Gradually, the players of the Brazilian National Team are joining at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio, for the final stretch of preparation aiming at the Paris Olympics. In the early evening of Thursday (4), five athletes reported to coach Arthur Elias.
He called up 22 players – four of them will travel on July 17 to France as alternates and will only participate in the competition in case of a cut of any of the other 18. Six more athletes were called up to collaborate only during the training sessions in Teresópolis.
READ MORE
++ CBF demands action against referees after Copa América controversy
++ Players eliminated from the Copa América 2024 who return to the Brasileirão
++ Copa América 2024: Conmebol admits mistake in penalty not given to Vinicius in Brazil – Colombia
From the list of 18, the full-back Antonia, the goalkeeper Tainá, and the forward Gabi Nunes arrived at Granja shortly after 7 pm.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. When you get here, your mindset changes completely. You know it’s total focus. It mixes the butterflies in the stomach with the chilly weather of the city,” said Antonia.
“It’s an immense joy to be here for the Olympics preparation. We dream of this. It’s a good anxiety, and we want it to start soon, so that everyone arrives so we can work hard, because it will be a very difficult competition,” commented forward Gabi Nunes.
Also coming in the same vehicle as Gabi Nunes, Antonia and Tainá were two athletes from the group who will only train at the CBF CT: midfielder Letícia Monteiro and defender Vitória Calhau.
Shortly after 8 pm, defender Thais and goalkeeper Luciana, who is part of the alternate group, also joined the delegation. At 9:10 pm, it was the turn of midfielder Ana Vitória to arrive in Teresópolis.
