Selection: Martinelli gains strength to replace Paquetá against Norway

Forward Gabriel Martinelli gained strength to replace the injured Lucas Paquetá in the match against Norway, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Scorer of the Brazilian team's qualifying goal over Japan, Martinelli competes for the spot with Danilo Santos and trained among the starters this Friday (3).

On Thursday (2), however, it was the Botafogo midfielder who worked on the main team, which makes this Saturday's training (4), the last before the decisive clash against the Norwegians, even more important for defining the lineup.

Against Japan, Endrick came on at half-time in place of Paquetá, when Brazil was losing 1-0 and needed to increase its offensive power. On that occasion, Matheus Cunha was dropped to play in midfield, a role that had been performed by Paquetá.

Shortly afterwards, Martinelli stepped into Matheus Cunha's shoes and assumed this role, receiving praise from the technical committee for his performance.

With this, the Brazilian team must enter the field with the following formation to face Norway: Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães and Douglas Santos; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Danilo Santos (Gabriel Martinelli); Rayan, Matheus Cunha and Vini Jr.

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Source: CNN