The Brazilian National Team was called up to compete in this year’s Copa América, which will be played in the United States. So, Dorival Junior arrives with the mission of bringing the title of the competition back to Brazil after five years.
Thus, the coach called up some names that were already expected and are considered by some fans as excellent players who can bring the title of the competition. However, one in particular was left out, Neymar, who will not play in the Copa América again.
READ MORE
++ Reliving Ronaldo’s final CONMEBOL Copa América in 1999
++ Brazil will play a friendly against the United States before the Copa América
++ Copa América 2024: Brazil would only clash against Argentina in a hypothetical final
Current state of the Brazilian National Team
- The Olympic Team was unable to secure a place in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, despite being the current two-time champion.
- The last time the Brazilian National Team won the Copa América was in 2019, when the competition was held in Brazil.
- Currently, Brazil is in 6th place in the World Cup qualifiers, having won seven points in six games.
Why wasn’t Neymar called up for the Copa América?
Neymar continues to treat a serious knee injury that kept him out of most of the season for Al-Hilal and also the Brazilian National Team.
To give an idea, Neymar’s last match for the Brazilian National Team was against Uruguay in the World Cup qualifiers, where Brazil played away and lost 2-0.
Therefore, the Brazilian is expected to return to the pitch only in the last games of the season or even in the next one, which starts only in August.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.