As Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison hadn’t scored a goal for Brazil since the World Cup, there had been big pressure on him recently.
Even with him motivated and teammates showing big support, he couldn’t score in the last international break, and that now led to him being dropped from the squad.
As manager Fernando Diniz held a press conference for the call-up, he was quoted by Globo Esporte explaining why the Tottenham player was left out.
“I think that more than the system, I have to look at everything that’s going on. I believe that the players I’ve called up will be in a better position to deliver what I’m expecting at the moment,” said Diniz.
“It’s just that the national team is a national team, he competes with other great players, and at the moment I preferred to call up others.”
Brazil’s list of strikers includes the likes of Endrick, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and João Pedro. This is the squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against Colombia and Argentina.
It wasn’t a great day for Richarlison, because besides being dropped from the national team, he also got benched by Tottenham for the match against Chelsea.
The striker needs to work hard to back both for club and country, especially because he only has a couple of goals for Spurs this season, and it’s unlikely he gets called up again unless he improves those numbers.
