Carlo Ancelotti made one change to Brazil’s team for Brazil Vs Norway on Sunday, and it put Gabriel Martinelli in Lucas Paquetá’s place. The switch came for the round of 16 match in Nova York/Nova Jersey, set to begin at 17h de Brasília.
Martinelli, who scored Brazil’s qualifying goal against Japan on the previous Monday, was the player Ancelotti trusted to carry the attack into the knockout round. The coach said Martinelli deserved the start because he scored an important goal against Japan, adding that he was motivated and physically well. He also said the Arsenal forward would move more toward the center-left and trade positions with Vini when Brazil had the ball.
That choice was not made in a vacuum. Danilo Santos had been tested for the role on Thursday, but Brazil’s training sessions on Friday and Saturday had Martinelli among the starters for most of the time. When the lineup was finally announced to the players in the pre-match talk on Sunday, about three hours before kickoff, Martinelli had won the spot and was the only change from the side that started against Japan.
The change was forced by Paquetá’s left-thigh injury, which has made him unlikely to play again in this Copa do Mundo even though he was not cut from the squad. Brazil did not alter the rest of its starting team, keeping Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Douglas Santos, Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Rayan, Matheus Cunha and Vini Jr in place around Martinelli.
There is a clear reason Ancelotti went this way. Martinelli has already delivered in a match that mattered, and the coach wanted a player who could start wide and still drift inside without breaking Brazil’s shape. Whether that same pattern can carry Brazil deeper into the Copa do Mundo now rests on how far Paquetá’s injury keeps him from coming back.
