When Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus was left out of the latest call-up made by Brazil manager Tite, the local media first seemed shocked about it.
The striker has four goals and three assists since joining the Gunners, and that seems like more than enough to give him a place at the national team.
However, even though Gabriel Jesus is missing the friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia, there’s still growing confidence that he has a guaranteed spot in the World Cup. That’s pointed out by two Brazilian journalists today.
It starts with ESPN Brasil’s João Castelo-Branco, who at the weekend interviewed the striker following Arsenal’s win over Brentford. There, as we covered, the player revealed he’d spoken to Tite after the call-up.
What the correspondent now highlights is that after answering that question, Gabriel Jesus quickly left the interview with a smile on his face, seeming like he wasn’t gutted at being left out of the call-up.
Now as UOL columnist Rodrigo Coutinho features a piece about the 25-year-old improving as a centre-forward, he also features a couple of lines sounding sure that the player will be at the World Cup this year.
“The fact that he was not called-up to the friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia this week serves as a confirmation that Tite has once again believed in the performance that the former Palmeiras striker may have in the World Cup. There’s no need to test him or recover his confidence with the yellow jersey.
“It seems clear that Pedro and Matheus Cunha fight for a place in the group and, perhaps, in the head of the coach, the vacancy is intended for a reserve at this time. Gabriel Jesus is the likely starter. And if he keeps doing what he has shown at the Premier League, he has a lot of chances of redeeming himself from below average football at the World Cup in Russia.”
