Euro clubs boycott forces Brazil to call up nine new players

Brazil coach Tite on Friday called up nine new players to his squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers as European clubs insisted they will not release their stars over coronavirus quarantine rules.

English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese leagues all support the right of their clubs not to release players to countries considered to have a high Covid-19 risk, which would mean their players will be subjected to travel requirements upon return form international duty.

It would mean they could miss Champions League fixtures as well as league encounters and the four European leagues have decided to back their clubs’ desire to block players from leaving.

As a result, Tite will lose 15 of his original group of 25 players, including Liverpool’s Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino, Manchester City pair Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, Thiago Silva of Chelsea and Manchester United’s Fred.

Two of the nine players called up on Friday ply their trade in one of the four leagues – Real Madrid forward Vinicius and midfielder Matheus Nunes of Sporting Lisbon.

Brazil’s football federation said it “is not de-selecting any player from these September matches”.

“However, given the uncertainty of the availability of players, in particular from the United Kingdom, and in the absence of an effective decision, we have decided to call up more players to the original list,” said Juninho Paulista, the national team coordinator.

“Our preparation begins in three days. We repeat: the qualifiers for us are already the World Cup, which is why we cannot wait any longer to find out which players from the original squad will be available.”

Among the nine new players called up for matches against Chile on 2nd September, Argentina on 5th September and Peru on 9th September, is veteran forward Hulk.

Star forward Neymar of Paris Saint-Germain should line-up against his new club teammate Lionel Messi when Brazil play Argentina in Sao Paulo.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged clubs to “show solidarity” with national teams but failed to elaborate whether or not there would be sanctions by the world governing body against clubs that will refuse to release players for national duty.

Brazil squad additions:

Goalkeepers: Everson (Atletico Mineiro), Santos (Athletico)

Defenders: Miranda (Sao Paulo)

Midfielders: Edenilson (Internacional), Gerson (Marseille/FRA), Matheus Nunes (Sporting/POR)

Forwards: Hulk (Atletico Mineiro), Malcom (Zenit/RUS), Vinicius (Real Madrid/ESP)

COURTESY