Endrick, a young star football player who is 17 years old and is seen as one of Brazil’s best hopes, was called up to the national team for the first time on Monday as coach Fernando Diniz looks for a replacement for Neymar, who is injured.
Endrick is set to join Real Madrid when he turns 18 in July 2024. He could make his senior international debut this month in Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina. If he does, he will be the youngest player called up to the Selecao since Ronaldo in 1994.
He told a news conference that he had put together his team, “He’s a player with the potential to be a great talent.”
This call-up isn’t a sign of stress. It’s both a gift and a look at what the kid could become in the future.
Real Madrid is said to have paid 72 million euros for Endrick. He just scored two important goals to help his team, Palmeiras, come back from being down three goals to beat league leaders Botafogo 4-3 on Wednesday.
Five times winners of the World Cup The first game is against Colombia on November 16 in Barranquilla. The second is against Argentina at Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana stadium on November 21.
Diniz won the Copa Libertadores on Saturday as the coach of Rio club Fluminense. Without Neymar, who hurt his knee, he made a lot of changes to Brazil’s attack.
For the first time, Brighton forward Joao Pedro, 22, Atletico Mineiro’s Paulinho, 23, and Porto’s Pepe, 26, will also play in a senior game.
Surprisingly, Diniz left out Richarlison, a striker for Tottenham who started at the 2022 World Cup.
Neymar, 31, will be out for a few months with a knee injury he got on October 17 in Brazil’s 2-0 loss to Uruguay in their last 2026 World Cup qualifier. Casemiro, the captain and a midfielder for Manchester United, will also be out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.