One of the surprised call-ups for Brazil for its 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying fixtures was Dani Alves, but it seems that the veteran defender won’t play.
Alves is out for these upcoming matches after suffering a right-knee injury during club competition with São Paulo FC. Brazil national team manager Tite has since called up his replacement; FC Barcelona’s Emerson Royal will be replacing Alves at right-back, per UOL Esporte.
Emerson has experience playing for Brazil as the 22-year-old was on the squad that won Olympic gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Nonetheless, this will be his second call-up and his first in almost two years.
The young defender is coming off a successful 2020-21 season, having made 38 appearances for Real Betis, where he scored two goals and registered four assists. After two seasons with Real Betis, Emerson will make the jump to Barcelona as part of the agreement when the two clubs purchased the player together. Emerson will arrive to compete for the right-back position.