Brazil's 'dream team': Can these super-stars win the World Cup?
Brazil's squad for the 2022 World Cup has been revealed by national team coach Tite, who has called on 26 players in the pursuit of one objective: lifting the trophy on December 18 at the Lusail Stadium.
The global reaction to the revelation of Brazil's final squad has been unanimous, with fans and commentators alike praising the top-level quality of the players that will represent the South American nation in Qatar.
With 5 World Cup titles, Brazil has won football's most important competition on more occasions than any other country. These are the players that will seek to add a sixth star to the national team's crest.
Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City) and Weverton (Palmeiras).
Brazil is lucky to have two high-profile goalkeepers, Alisson and Ederson, who play for two of Europe's biggest clubs, Liverpool and Manchester City. Alisson has traditionally been Tite's choice, and is expected to be Brazil's starting goalkeeper in Qatar. However, with Ederson on the bench, Brazil have a reliable back-up.
Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Danilo (Juventus), Daniel Alves (Pumas), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Alex Telles (Sevilla).
The Brazilian national team is strong on the defensive line too. Having conceded only 5 goals in the 17 matches of the qualifying stage, Brazil's defense is a major reason why this South American team is considered among the favourites to win the World Cup.
With Militao, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, Brazil have a combination of experience and physicality at the centre-back position.
At the age of 39, Dani Alves will bring charisma and experience to a locker room packed with young stars. The former Barcelona right-back has the honour of being the title-winning recordman in football history, with 46 trophies in his career. However, he's missing one title to complete his collection: the World Cup.
Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham).
The defensive and tactical capacities of experienced players such as Casemiro, Fabinho and Fred will be important in allowing Brazil's more creative and talented players to shine on the attack. Paqueta is an important player for Tite, having played consistently in the starting eleven in the lead-up to the World Cup. Bruno Guimaraes, who is having a great season at Newcastle, will be hoping to play despite having only 8 'caps' for the national team.
Antony (Manchester United), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Neymar Jr (PSG), Pedro (Flamengo), Raphinha (Barcelona), Richarlison (Tottenham), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid).
With such a list of forwards, it isn't controversial to say that Brazil has, on paper, the best attack in the World Cup; the only national team that can maybe present a challenge is France, with Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema, among others. However, the truth is that no country can at this moment in time produce a list of 9 attackers as talented as Brazil's.
Brazil's biggest star has been performing at an exceptional level for PSG this season, and is expected to play at the top of his game in Qatar. After the heartbreak of injury at the 2014 World Cup and losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals in 2018, Neymar will be looking forward to making the most of this tournament and winning his first World Cup.
Real Madrid's young star will participate in his first World Cup, and will surely be looking to make an impact of the sort that Kylian Mbappe caused in 2018.
While his participation in Qatar was seriously compromised by an injury, the Tottenham forward has been selected to represent Brazil at his first World Cup. If you have seen his video celebrating the call-up with his family, you know how important this is for Richarlison.
The 25-year-old attacker is having his best year so far, performing at an impressive level for Arsenal in his first season with the 'gunners'.
The Manchester United forward will be making his first appearance at a World Cup, and is without a doubt hoping to secure a place in the starting XI and prove himself as a world-class player.
The competition for the right-wing attacking spot is fierce, but in the last couple of matches played by Brazil in September, it was the FC Barcelona player that was on the starting XI, while Antony had to wait on the bench. Who will start on the pitch against Serbia on Brazil's first match is a mystery.
However, there are other contenders besides Antony and Raphinha. Rodrygo is having a great season at Real Madrid, where he is demonstrating his capacity for scoring goals and rising up to the occasion on big matches.
The 21-year-old has been an important part of Arsenal's success this season, and Tite has decided to reward his recent form by taking him to Qatar.
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa) and Matheus Cunha (Atletico Madrid) are the biggest names that have been left out of Tite's final list for Qatar.
It can't have been easy for Tite to decide who to take and who to leave behind, but now he will face an even more difficult task in choosing who to play in the World Cup.
Brazil's first match in the group stage will be against Serbia (24 November), in the Lusail Stadium that will host the final.
Switzerland (28 November) will be Brazil's second opponent in the group stage, a game that will be played at Stadium 974.
Brazil's third and final group stage match-up will be against Cameroon (2 December), yet again in the Lusail Stadium, where the Brazilians hope to be back for the final. They surely have the team to make it happen.