Coincidentally, the squads for Brazil’s two major tournaments this summer, the Women’s World Cup and the Copa América, were announced back-to-back, yesterday and today. Here they are:

Women’s World Cup:

Goalkeepers:

Aline – UD Granadilla Tenerife (ESP)
Bárbara – Avaí/Kindermann (BRA)
Letícia – Corinthians (BRA)

Defenders:

Camila – Orlando Pride (USA)
Érika – Corinthians (BRA)
Fabiana – Internacional (BRA)
Kathellen – FC Bordeaux (FRA)
Letícia – Sportclub Sand (GER)
Mônica – Corinthians (BRA)
Tamires – Fortuna Hjorring (DEN)
Tayla – Benfica (POR)

Midfielders:

Adriana – Corinthians (BRA)
Andressinha – Portland Thorns (USA)
Formiga – Paris St Germain (FRA)
Thaisa – Milan (ITA)

Attackers:

Andressa Alves – Barcelona (ESP)
Bia Zaneratto – Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels (KOR)
Cristiane – São Paulo (BRA)
Debinha – North Carolina Courage (USA)
Geyse – Benfica (POR)
Ludmila – Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Marta – Orlando Pride (USA)
Raquel – Sporting Club Huelva (ESP)

My Reaction:

Unfortunately, I haven’t been following the women’s game too closely—in part because it’s hard to be optimistic about their chances of winning the World Cup. They’re clearly a level below the best teams in the sport, and have lost their last nine(!) games, almost all of them to the teams they’ll have to beat if they want to win it all (the USA, Spain, Canada, England, and the like). After sacking Emily Lima, the first female coach in their history, they’re back under the command of Vadão, under whom they struggled desperately to score goals in the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

If there is a positive, it is that star striker Cristiane has un-retired from the national team, having done so initially in the wake of Emily Lima’s sacking. Her injury halfway through the last Olympics totally hobbled what had previously been a free-scoring side, so hopefully her presence will at least give Brazil some attacking bite.

Elsewhere, Formiga is pictured at the top of this article for a reason. Barring some last-minute injury, she is about to play at her seventh World Cup, a record for either men or women.

Let’s move on to the men’s side and the Copa América squad.

Goalkeepers:

Alisson – Liverpool (ENG)
Ederson – Manchester City (ENG)
Cássio – Corinthians (BRA)

Defenders:

Dani Alves – Paris Saint Germain (FRA)
Fágner – Corinthians (BRA)
Filipe Luís – Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Alex Sandro – Juventus (ITA)
Thiago Silva – Paris Saint Germain (FRA)
Marquinhos – Paris Saint Germain (FRA)
Miranda – Inter Milan (ITA)
Éder Militão – Porto (POR)

Midfielders:

Casemiro – Real Madrid (ESP)
Fernandinho – Manchester City (ING)
Allan – Napoli (ITA)
Lucas Paquetá – Milan (ITA)
Philippe Coutinho – Barcelona (ESP)
Arthur – Barcelona (ESP)

Attackers:

Neymar – Paris Saint Germain (FRA)
Richarlison – Everton (ING)
Roberto Firmino – Liverpool (ING)
Gabriel Jesus – Manchester City (ING)
David Neres – Ajax (NED)
Everton – Grêmio (BRA)

My Reaction:

This is actually a very good selection! Especially in midfield and attack, Tite cast off most of the unwanted remnants of the World Cup squad and replaced them with the new, exciting players who actually delivered when they got a chance to play with Brazil. The inclusion of Éder Militão, Richarlison, Arthur, and Lucas Paquetá shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention, but it’s heartening to see Everton Cebolinha and David Neres make it in on the basis of their good performances against the Czech Republic. Elsewhere, Allan and Alex Sandro are old enough that they probably won’t be options beyond the 2022 World Cup, but they have been ignored for too long. Believe it or not, this is the first tournament either will contest for the Brazil senior team. Fernandinho and Dani Alves make their returns, yes, but that was also pretty evident from Tite’s comments (and the desperate lack of depth at right-back). And, knock on wood, there is…

🎉 NO PAULINHO! 🎉

But there is one big omission.

Where is Fabinho? The man was just arguably the single outstanding performer in the most extraordinary game in Liverpool’s history, helping them go to the Champions League final. More importantly, he’s been a fixture in Tite’s squads for pretty much the entirety of the past year, though mostly as a right-back. Yet he’s not in the squad here at all. Fernandinho has the place I thought he would have occupied as Casemiro’s backup, and Fágner has his spot at right-back. Put him in Fágner’s place and I would have no issues with this squad (and my depth chart this week would have been 100% spot-on).

I can guess at Tite’s thinking here. Fabinho has only played as a midfielder for Brazil for about five minutes against the Czech Republic. With that in mind, his spot in the Champions League final might actually weigh against him, because it means he’ll spend the next two with Liverpool rather than Brazil and won’t have as much time to get fully acclimated to the midfield. Fernandinho, meanwhile, gets to join up with the training camp right when it starts. I mean, I would have still chosen Fabinho in Fágner’s place—he’d be just about as good as Fágner if he had to play at right-back—but I kind of get it.

But there’s another problem. As in the last two World Cups and the 2015 Copa América, Fernandinho is now the principal backup in defensive midfield—and as we’ve seen at the last two World Cups and the 2015 Copa América, when he has to fill in, it usually spells trouble for Brazil. Casemiro will inevitably be suspended at least once this summer; is there any hope for when Fernandinho fills in?

Well… maybe? For one, it’s possible that Tite will actually turn to Allan instead to back up Casemiro. Allan is also a step down from Casemiro as a purely defensive midfielder, but he’s a better tackler and more energetic than Fernandinho. Maybe more importantly, Fernandinho can anchor the midfield by himself when the system and/or his teammates don’t expose him too much, as is the case at Manchester City. Whenever he’s had to do so for Brazil, he’s usually had very poor cover in midfield. Against Paraguay in 2015, he had Coutinho and Elias, neither of whom is much for tackling or getting physical, helping him in midfield. Against Belgium in 2018, it was Coutinho and Paulinho. Against Colombia in 2014 (where, though Brazil won, they lost control and lost their best players), he had Paulinho alongside him.

At last, however, there is 🎉 NO PAULINHO 🎉. Allan is a vastly better defender, Arthur is incredible at shaking off pressure, and Lucas Paquetá is a much harder worker defensively. For Fernandinho, will that be enough?