Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Raphinha is fit enough to be involved from the bench in Sunday’s World Cup last-16 meeting with Norway after recovering from a hamstring injury, although the winger
is not ready to start. The Barcelona forward resumed training on Friday following a two-week absence after being injured during Brazil’s group-stage victory over Haiti.
“Raphinha is progressing very well,” Ancelotti told reporters ahead of the world cup match. “He is still not at 100%, but he is available to be on the bench and to be able to play a few minutes or be useful at certain moments. He recovered very well and very quickly. We are very happy with this because Raphinha is a very, very important player for the team.”
Brazil must also cope without Lucas Paqueta, who picked up a hamstring strain in the 2-1 win over Japan, forcing changes in midfield.
“We don’t have a player in the squad with Lucas Paqueta’s quality, so we have to replace him with another player,” Ancelotti said. “The characteristics are different. Danilo is different from Gabriel, who is different from Matheus Cunha and Ederson. I will choose the player based on our game plan, obviously taking into account the strength of the opponent, but also what is functional to the idea we want to implement tomorrow.”
With Neymar available and Raphinha nearing full fitness, Brazil will have greater attacking depth against a Norway side spearheaded by Erling Haaland.
“Everyone knows Haaland,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t have to explain to my defenders how Haaland plays. They know him better than I do because they have played against him many times. We are focused on preparing well for the match, obviously including Haaland’s characteristics, which we must take into account because he is a very, very dangerous forward.”
Brazil vs Norway Predicted XIs
Brazil: Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Santos; Guimarães, Casemiro; Rayan, Cunha, Vinicius; Endrick.
Norway: Nyland; Holmgren Pedersen, Ajer, Heggem, Møller Wolfe; Odegaard, Berge, Berg; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa.
