Joelinton marked his international debut with a goal on Saturday and now the Brazil interim coach has hinted that there’s more to come from the Newcastle United man in a Brazil shirt.
The 26-year-old Newcastle midfielder had to wait a long time to get his call up to the Brazil national squad despite calls from fans and pundits following his unbelievable transformation under Eddie Howe.
Joelinton has become one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Premier League since Howe made the call to pull him into the midfield following Ciaran Clark‘s early red card against Norwich back in November 2021.
Joelinton was cruelly overlooked by former Brazil boss, Tite
That twist of fate changed Joelinton’s entire career trajectory as the £40million signing from Hoffenheim picked up Newcastle’s Player of the Season gong by the end of that campaign.
His form continued into last season too, however, despite all the praise he was completely overlooked by Brazil’s manager at the time, Tite, and Joelinton missed out on his dream of representing his country at a World Cup.
However, fortunately for Joelinton that tournament was Tite’s last in charge of Brazil and current interim coach, Ramon Menezes gave J7 his big chance, calling him up for the friendly games against Guniea and Senegal.
Not only did he receive his call up but Joelinton was in the starting eleven as the Brazil side swept aside Guinea 4-1 with Joelinton opening the scoring.
Menezes was very happy with Joelinton’s contribution on Saturday
After the game Ramon Menezes spoke about Joelinton saying (via The Chronicle): “I said that this was our main objective, not only to win, but to play well.
“Joelinton and Ayrton debuted very well, they played a great game.
“Joelinton confirmed everything we expected from this athlete. He’s a very strong athlete, who can make a very big contribution for the Brazilian team in the defensive and offensive phase.”
It sounds like Menezes is happy with his call up and as Brazil gear up to take on Senegal on Tuesday night, Joelinton will be hoping he’s done enough to earn another cap.
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