When those teams having qualified for the World Cup jet off to Qatar in November, will Arsenal’s big-name trio representing favourites Brazil all make it onto the plane?
The battle to make the squad for the South American five-time winners under head coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi – or Tite, as he is known - will be one of the most closely scrutinised and competitive of any of the 32 national sides participating.
And the prize, representing arguably the most glamorous team of them all with the chance to wear the famous yellow and blue strip on the greatest stage as they seek to end what is viewed at home as a 20-year title drought, retains an allure and mystique that few can match.
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No doubt Gunners fans would love to see the three Gabriels - striker Jesus, defender Magalhaes and forward Martinelli – at the party. But each face their own challenges to be sure of being part of the final expanded squad of 26 that managers can select.
Indications already in Brazil are that Tite may use the extra three selections from the norm that this affords him mostly in the forward areas – which is certainly good news for Jesus and Martinelli, but also for several others among the wealth of forward riches that the football-crazy nation can boast.
And first it is worth having an in-depth look at who the forwards are up against in their quest. First and foremost, there is PSG’s Neymar. Now aged 30 and with 121 caps and 75 goals, there is no need for any debate – the talisman, for all the occasional criticism that he is overrated and nowhere near the level of a Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, will be going.
Tottenham’s Richarlison has an excellent recent scoring record for Brazil with seven goals in his last six games for the Selecao, and is after those efforts fully trusted by Tite. And to those two you can almost certainly add the Spanish-based trio of Real Madrid’s Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr, together with Barcelona’s ex-Leeds forward Raphinha.
And it is when considering how Jesus gets into a group of maybe nine forward players that the debate about the in-form star gets interesting. The 25-year-old from Sao Paulo, who has thrived at the Emirates following his move from Manchester City, was bafflingly left out of the final international squad before the World Cup given his Premier League form - though he has scored just once in his last 20 appearances for his country.
And ultimately three from Jesus, his club team-mate Martinelli – who is the one really giving Tite a headache with his fine early-season form – Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, Manchester United’s new recruit Antony, Atletico’s Matheus Cunha, and the popular and home-based Flamengo striker Pedro, and also his club team-mate Gabriel Barbosa could be omitted.
Jesus may well get the nod, simply because he is too good to leave out. For the vastly less experienced 21-year-old Martinelli, who has just three caps to date, he may need to keep playing as he has been in the Premier League right up to the squad selection cut-off date and then pray for the best.
Martinelli, who has been tormenting domestic defences so far this season, could be a revelation at the World Cup, but a quick glance at who is up against will prevent any complacency.
Manchester United must be kicking themselves that despite several trials at Old Trafford Martinelli was allowed to slip through their fingers. Instead they ended up paying £85million for Antony, who could yet end up in direct competition with Martinelli for a Brazil squad place.
Like Jesus and Martinelli, defender Magalhaes was also left out of that final Brazil games against Ghana and Tunisia. South American football expert Tim Vickery said when the centre-back was omitted: “Leaving Gabriel Magalhaes out has mystified me because I was convinced he’d make his Brazil debut in the couple of friendlies. But Tite brought in another couple of centre-backs whom he wants to have a look at.”
With Jesus it would still be a major shock if he did not make it. But for both Martinelli and Magalhaes, it looks like being a nervy few weeks as they sweat it out until the 26 names are released. Brazil are in Group G at the World Cup which starts in November in Qatar, along with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon.
