As the day for Brazil’s World Cup call-up gets closer, the major doubt in Tite’s list seems to be the presence of Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho.
With the 30-year-old not doing great this season, we’ve already seen several pundits in the Brazilian media claiming he should not go to the tournament.
Especially because he’d be fighting for a spot with Flamengo star Everton Ribeiro, who’s been in amazing form and just won the Copa Libertadores.
So as Globo Esporte columnist Paulo Vinícius Coelho today features a piece about those in Europe who still stand a chance of going to the World Cup, there are a few specific words about Philippe Coutinho and Aston Villa.
“Most of all, Phillippe Coutinho is the one who worries. If Tite said there was a dispute with Everton Ribeiro, in the press conference after the last call-up, it is already won by the Flamengo player. Because Coutinho did not recover in the Premier League, he lost his coach and ex-Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard, he only came on in the 17th minute of the second half in Villa’s 4-0 defeat to Newcastle.
With Bruno Guimarães playing well.
Coutinho can go to the Cup, but it will hardly be in the place of Everton Ribeiro. It could be in another dispute, for the choice of not taking Daniel Alves, or of removing another striker and having Ribeiro and Coutinho together. It doesn’t seem likely.
Six days before the answers.”
Brazil’s call-up is being made on Monday, so Coutinho would need to show a lot at the weekend to convince Tite he deserves a spot. On Sunday, Aston Villa play Manchester United at the Villa Park.
