Bruno Guimarães named to World Cup squad for Brazil

For the first time in his footballing career, Bruno Guimarães will be heading to the World Cup. Bruno joins 11 other Premier League players who also will be traveling to Qatar under head coach Tite.

The full list includes some notable snubs like Arsenal’s Gabriel at CB--who did not get the nod ahead of Bremer, who is currently at Juventus--as well as Bobby Firmino who has been a mainstay in the National Team for the past few years. Notably, for Newcastle fans, Joelinton did not make the squad as a midfielder or a forward and has yet to be called up for the Brazilian National team. Given the quick turnaround time ahead of the World Cup, it would be ambitious to try to integrate him into the fairly complex football Tite has been playing with the National team.

There were some surprises as Pedro got the nod ahead of his Flamengo teammate Gabigol, and Bobby Firmino despite him receiving his first call-up for the Brazilian National team in the most recent international break. Pedro did take advantage of being called up while being one of the most in-form number 9s in the Brazilian pool by coming off the bench and scoring in Brazil’s most recent match against Tunisia. For Brazil, he will likely back up Richarlison as a traditional striker option. It’s yet to be seen how much Pedro actually plays considering Tite is completely comfortable playing other attackers such as Neymar as false 9s.

The other surprise was that 40-year-old Dani Alves got the nod. Alves has been playing his football for Pumas in Mexico and has likely been brought into the squad as an elder statesman who has a ton of World Cup experience and less for his ability.

Bruno’s inclusion, however, was not a surprise to anyone. He has been an effective midfielder for Tite whether he is starting or coming off the bench. For the senior team, Bruno has made 8 appearances and has scored once and assisted 4 times. In addition to that, Bruno started every match for Brazil in the Olympics and subsequently won a gold medal. Bruno has shown that he is comfortable playing as a 6 or an 8, by himself or in a double pivot, and starting or coming off the bench. He is going to be a wonderful option for Tite in a World Cup in which Brazil are the clear favorites.

Photo by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images

Brazil come into the World Cup ranked #1 in the world after not losing a single match in World Cup Qualifying. The Brazilian team is one of the deepest teams in the world with tons of players being some of the best players in their respective leagues. The full list of the 26 Brazilians going to the World Cup is listed below, and we here at Coming Home Newcastle of course wish Bruno the best of luck at the World Cup!

Brazil’s World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, Weverton

Defenders: Danilo, Dani Alves, Alex Sandro, Alex Telles, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Eder Militao, Bremer

Midfielders: Casemiro, Fabinho, Bruno Guimaraes, Fred, Paqueta, Everton Ribeiro

Forwards: Neymar, Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Raphinha, Richarlison, Martinelli, Rodrygo, Pedro