Bruno Guimaraes had a Monday to remember, but there was one thing that he was not happy about after his World Cup debut.
The Newcastle United midfielder started on the bench for Brazil for the second game running, but was brought on against Switzerland to replace Fred.
The 25-year-old should have been in the starting XI instead of the Man United midfielder, and quickly proved why with a wonderous performance in yellow.
Bruno played his part in helping Brazil secure a 1-0 victory and confirm their place in the next round of the tournament. In the eyes of Joelinton, his Toon teammate ‘changed the game‘ for his country.
The former Lyon man achieved a dream on Monday, making his first ever appearance at a World Cup. It was a special occasion, and he even found time to swap shirts with Fabian Schar, who was an unused substitute for the Swiss.
But while so much went right for Bruno, he wasn’t fully happy with the facilities in Qatar.
Bruno Guimaraes was not happy with the pitch last night
Bruno spoke to Brazilian outlet Globo after the game. He expressed his disappointment with the quality of the pitch at Stadium 974.
“Very difficult first half,” Bruno said when asked about the 1-0 win.
“For me, to be honest, I was a little anxious, first game in the World Cup. But after I touched the ball for the first time, it got better.
“Tough pitch, bad pitch today. But I think we deserved the three points, we played well. Especially in the second half. Now we’re qualified, right, the first step has already been conquered, really very proud of the team, it was a very difficult game.”
Bad pitch, great win
Bruno didn’t think the pitch was great, but it didn’t stop his side from securing victory. They had to battle hard to get it, with Casemiro scoring a later winner for Tite’s side.
Given the type of football Brazil play, they will want to be playing on a carpet. And given it is the World Cup, there shouldn’t be issues with the pitch. But this tournament has been littered with problems. We even saw the lights go off during this game.
But the most important thing for Brazil was that they found a way to win. That involved bringing Bruno into the side, and he will hope to be rewarded with a start against Cameroon.
The Newcastle superstar deserves to be in the starting XI, and hopefully he will be in Brazil’s next game – and possibly for the rest of the tournament.
Can Bruno propel his nation to World Cup glory? He’s certainly got the best chance out of any of the Newcastle players at the competition.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
