Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as the new Brazil NT manager was expected to see Real Madrid’s stars see an improved prominence at the national level, especially with some of the team’s best attacking players at the club.
Earlier this week, however, word came out that the coach was not planning to call up Vinicius Jr. for the upcoming games since the player is suspended for one game and thus will have to make the strenuous journey to play just one game.
It then came as a surprise that he did not have Eder Militao in his plans as well, possibly because he thought the defender needed more time to get back to speed after a long period out.
Now, as relayed by TNT Sports in a recent update, Ancelotti does not intend to call up Rodrygo Goes either for Brazil’s upcoming games, meaning a third Real Madrid player is set to be out of the loop.
The young winger is currently suffering in one of the most complicated moments in his career and has even been widely linked with a departure from the club since Xabi Alonso’s plans have barely included him.
No Rodrygo in Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for next month. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Rodrygo’s lack of minutes at the club level, both in the FIFA Club World Cup and in the league opener, may have prompted Ancelotti’s decision to an extent.
However, the report states that the Italian tactician is opting to leave him out as he wants to test out and get more familiar with other players on Brazil’s agenda ahead of a crucial FIFA World Cup year.
Nevertheless, given the player’s complicated situation, one would have expected the former Real Madrid manager to have called up Rodrygo to give him a chance and help him out of the pit he finds himself in.
With Vinicius out, moreover, it would have been easy for Ancelotti to even hand him a start. Yet, it appears that the veteran manager is not one to hand out favours and Rodrygo will have to fight his way back into the national team purely through merit.
