Happy 2022, everybody! I was going to whip up a “it’s a World Cup year, what positions does the Seleção still need to sort out?” post, but then I remembered that Tite’s about to call up his squad for the extra round of World Cup qualifiers this month, so I figured I’d incorporate that as well.
First, the important info—Tite’s calling up the squad on Thursday, January 13th; he may call as many as 26 players instead of the required 23; and he’s not likely to call any players based in Brazil since they are just now returning from their end-of-season break. Additionally, Neymar, Richarlison, and Danilo are injured and almost certain to not be called. Our games are against Ecuador (away) on the 27th and then at home to Paraguay on February 1st.
With our place in Qatar mathematically guaranteed, the only thing really on the line in these games is the pride of going through World Cup qualifying unbeaten. (Believe it or not, we haven’t lost a World Cup qualifier since the first matchday of the 2018 qualifiers—a 30-game streak!) But it’s certainly more important to use these games to give some new names a try and find the best options for open spots on the World Cup roster. Tite’s never been one to call up a whole team of untested players, but hopefully we get a healthy crop of new names, or at least some worthwhile experiments that settle down some of our problem positions.
And what are our problem positions? To answer that, I’m going to go through the 11 positions that make up Tite’s typical setup, assess the apparent candidates, and rank them based on how safe their spot at the World Cup seems to be. Locks for Qatar and players Looking Likely to make the cut should be self-explanatory; those In The Mix have a good chance but still face serious competition to win their place; those Outside Looking In have been part of the team in the recent past but appear to have lost favor and don’t have more than a slim chance of returning; and Pipe Dreams are players who aren’t currently in the Brazil picture at all but who I think might have something significant to offer if given the chance.
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