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South American football expert Tim Vickery has claimed that Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes being excluded from Brazil's FIFA World Cup squad isn't a surprise.
Manager Tite released his final 26-man squad for the showpiece event in Qatar, which included Arsenal forwards Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. The Gunners' star center-back, however, was excluded.
The trio were left out of Brazil's squad in September for their international friendlies. While Jesus and Martinelli have been called up for the Selecao, Gabriel hasn't.
Vickery told Sky Sports (h/t HITC):
"No, (it’s not a surprise). In fact, none of them were in the last squad (Gabriel, Martinelli and Jesus)."
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He continued:
"With Gabriel, he was in the squad for a while, without playing, but I think it became clear that the coach didn’t trust him. He didn’t trust him enough. His exclusion wasn’t a surprise
The 24-year-old centre-back is fast approaching the prime years of his career. Alongside William Saliba, he has been the foundation on which Arsenal's sensational start to the season has been built.
He has scored twice in 18 games across competitions this campaign, which showcases manager Mikel Arteta's trust in him. Perhaps if he had a similarly stellar season last term, then Tite could have entrusted him with a place in his 26-man squad.
Instead, Brazil have gone with Gleison Bremer, Eder Militao, Thiago Silva, and Marquinhos as their centre-backs. Gabriel was named in the Brazil squad in November 2021 and January 2022 for his country's World Cup qualification games.
However, he was left as an unused substitute in all four of those matches.
Arsenal defender's World Cup dream still alive
According to Football.London, World Cup rulings state that a nation can replace an injured or a Covid-19 positive player 24 hours before their opening group match.
It remains to be seen if Gabriel, who is yet to be capped at the senior level for Brazil, will get a call-up in case of an injury. It would also depend on the position of the player that has to be potentially withdrawn.
Brazil start their FIFA World Cup journey against Serbia on November 2. They take on Switzerland four days later before taking on Cameroon on December 2. While they have won the World Cup a record five times, they haven't lifted the trophy in 20 years.
