World Cup 2022: Richarlison steals the spotlight from a luxurious Brazilian attack
Brazilian striker Richarlison quickly seized the opportunity to start with his country in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, leading it to victory over Serbia by scoring two goals, making up for his volatile season with English club Tottenham.
After spending his first season with Tottenham in the shadow of top scorer Harry Kane, Richarlison grabbed the spotlight in the first match and put the five-time champions at the top of Group G, which also saw Switzerland beat Cameroon with a goal.
Thanks to his two goals in the second half, Brazil avoided a stumbling start, similar to Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia and Germany to Japan, with one score 1-2.
The second goal of the twenty-five-year-old came from a beautiful acrobatic ball in the middle of the region, which confirmed his strong presence at the beginning of the first World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab region.
But in the next match for Brazil, Monday, against Switzerland, at Stadium 974, the offensive burden will be greater on Richarlison, in light of the worrying injury of the star of the national team, Neymar, by twisting his ankle and announcing his absence for one official match, at least until the end of the first round, according to reports.
In the absence of Neymar, the most expensive player in the world when Paris Saint-Germain brought him from Barcelona, Spain, his coach Tite will have many options, such as Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus, Rafaigna, Anthony, Gabriel Martinelli and Rodrigo.
Unlike Tottenham, where he is prohibited from occupying the position of the main striker in the presence of the top scorer of the 2018 World Cup, Harry Kane, he was assigned the task of recording with “Seleção” and to be the center of gravity.
A mission that he will not be disturbed by, in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of strikers who helped give his country the World Cup, such as Romario and Bebeto in 1994 and Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in 2002.
After the Serbia match, coach Tite said he could choose several players for the spearhead position, according to the requirements and circumstances of each match.
Titi considers that Richarlison is the best he has to provide the final touch and possesses the predatory instinct that he did not show with Tottenham, after Italian coach Antonio Conte brought him from Everton last season for $ 72 million.
The Italian coach did not expect to score only two goals in 15 matches this season, after he stole the spotlight with Everton and has so far scored 19 goals in 39 games with Brazil.
The player himself admits the comfort of playing with Brazil, "I don't know if it is possible to smell the goal, but with the national team I score goals."
And the player, who began his career with Atletico Mineiro before moving to Fluminense and then heading to Watford, England, continued, "I must continue and benefit from my colleagues to the fullest extent. At halftime (against Serbia) I asked for passes and I got them."
The 2019 Copa America champion may not have realized that his two goals against Serbia came at Lusail Stadium, which will host the final match on December 18.
For the player who dreams of emulating the historical goalscorer Pele and the “phenomenon” Ronaldo, Lusail Stadium may be his entrance to the club of the greats.
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