Brazil are likely to be without Raphinha for Sunday’s World Cup last-16 clash against Norway, with the fitness of both Lucas Paqueta and Casemiro set to be closely assessed ahead of kick-off.
Paqueta was taken off at half-time during Brazil’s narrow last-32 victory over Japan. Casemiro, who scored in that match, was replaced shortly before Gabriel Martinelli struck in stoppage time to seal the injury-time winner.
Who could miss out
Raphinha is expected to miss the knockout tie against Norway.
Casemiro’s availability will be monitored, with confidence growing that he could return in time.
Paqueta is considered a bigger doubt than Casemiro for the Norway game.
Potential replacements
If Paqueta cannot take part, Danilo Santos is expected to be brought into the starting lineup.
Ancelotti unlikely to overhaul the squad
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti is not expected to make major changes from the team that earned its place in the knockout rounds, even with the late fitness checks ongoing for Paqueta and Casemiro.
Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa’s leading independent entertainment news sites.
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