Neymar appears surprised at Gabriel Martinelli's World Cup squad call-up as talkSPORT told Brazil co

June 2024 · 4 minute read

Neymar was caught with a surprised look on his face after finding out Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli had been selected for Brazil’s World Cup squad.

And Brazil coach Tite has been warned he may regret the decision to select Martinelli over Roberto Firmino, who has be left in Liverpool.

Tite has announced his final 26-man squad for the tournament in Qatar, and Martinelli was among one of the players included with the least amount of caps.

The Arsenal winger now has the opportunity to add to his three appearances for the Selecao as they embark on their quest for a first World Cup since 2002.

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will captain a Brazil side with arguably its deepest pool of talent in 20 years.

Key to that has been the form of Brazil’s new generation of stars including Real Madrid trio Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Eder Militao alongside the likes of Martinelli, former Leeds winger Raphinha and Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

Video emerged of Neymar listening to the squad announcement at home with his son and the news of Martinelli’s inclusion appeared to take him by surprise.

Neymar's reaction may in part be down to the axing of Roberto Firmino who has racked up 55 caps for Brazil.

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The Liverpool forward broke his silence on Tuesday with a classy message following the news that he will not be following his teammates on the plane to Qatar.

"Passing by to say thank you for all the lovely messages. The World Cup is a dream for every player and with me it wouldn't be any different," Firmino wrote on his Instagram page.

"Yesterday things didn't go the way I imagined or dreamed for my life but I can look back and have a grateful heart to God that he has already allowed me to live that dream as well as so many others. You, Lord, will keep in perfect peace him whose purpose is firm, because he trusts in you."

His omission has taken many by surprise and South American football expert Tim Vickery believes Brazil could rue the decision to select Martinelli ahead of Firmino.

"They might live to regret that," Vickery told Hawksbee and Jacobs on talkSPORT.

"Martinelli's fantastic, he's having a great season. He’s mainly a wide striker cutting in front the left - they've got loads of those.

"What they don’t have is a straight replacement for Neymar playing as a false nine and Firmino is the closest they’ve got to that."

Despite Neymar’s stunned expression, Martinelli has arguably justified his inclusion following a string of fine performances to fire Mikel Arteta’s side to the top of the Premier League.

The 21-year-old has chipped in with five goals in 18 games as the Gunners search for their first Premier League title in 19 years.

While Martinelli is likely to play second fiddle in Qatar, it seems as though he has a little more work to do to get Neymar’s seal of approval.

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The PSG star - who has hinted that this could be his last World Cup -has been in scintillating form this season after vowing to produce a much-improved version of himself this time round.

Neymar joins teammate Kylian Mbappe at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 11 goals in 14 games and is second to Lionel Messi in assists, having registered nine.

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