Three Arsenal players are second-guessing the Brazil coach, a 146-cap veteran is sweating, while a West Ham winger has a Man Utd star breathing down his neck.
With the Premier League returning this weekend, here are 20 players all stewing over their World Cup prospects…
Arsenal – Gabriel Martinelli
The last Brazil squad before the World Cup was a bit of a head f***. Tite has experimented somewhat, leaving out three Arsenal players. Gabriel Jesus ought to be just fine but Martinelli’s omission is a bigger concern with Qatar looming. The uncapped Gabriel Magalhaes is probably sweating too after Roma’s Roger Ibanez and Juventus’s Gleison Bremer were called up instead. Martinelli and Gabriel both need to catch the eye with 13 fixtures between now and the World Cup.
Aston Villa – Philippe Coutinho
The Brazil forward was ‘hurt’ to be axed by Tite for the current internationals but he’s made the best of a bad situation by nipping off to the Maldives. Coutinho hasn’t started the season well – he finished last term poorly too – so he can’t argue with a first omission in over a year. The 30-year-old needs to heed the warning, return refreshed from his holiday and start performing for Villa in the coming weeks if he is to get back in Tite’s good books.
Bournemouth – Marcos Senesi
The Bournemouth new boy presumably hoped a move to the Premier League might have cemented his place in the Argentina squad after making his international debut in June. But a shaky start to life in England has seen Senesi lose his place in the squad for the final friendlies. In fairness, the centre-back was chucked in at the deep end, with his first start coming in the 9-0 defeat at Liverpool. But he needs to find his feet quickly if he hopes to regain his spot in Lionel Scaloni’s squad.
Brentford – Ivan Toney
The centre-forward seemed to have timed his run into the England squad just right, making the final squad before the World Cup. But Toney watched the defeat to Italy from the stands and remained on the bench for the draw with Germany. Gareth Southgate says the Brentford striker can ‘definitely’ play his way into the World Cup party but he’ll be feeling rather less chipper over his prospects now than a week ago.
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Brighton – Alexis Mac Allister
Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupinan and Jeremy Sarmiento were all sweating on their participation before
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