Neymar Jr. also recently relinquished his captain duties for Brazil.
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He is set to play for Brazil in 2018 World Cup qualifiers after being named in new coach Tite’s squad.
“He said, “I don’t want to be the captain” and I said to him, ‘Enjoy it with your family, go and celebrate this victory because that is something we can look at later.’ Why?”
“Being a leader involves many aspects”, Tite said. There is then another aspect where you can communicate your ideas with the public. And with a chance to get revenge on Germany, Neymar led them to glory after missing the World Cup semifinal two years ago. Arda Turan is expected to remain in the Barcelona line-up against Athletic after impression on the left wing during Neymar’s absence.
“But he can also be used centrally if necessary within the game”. I decided I wanted him to be captain, he was the best person to be captain for the team. “This (gold medal) is one of the best things that happened in my life”, Neymar stated.
Marquinhos’ Paris Saint-Germain colleague Thiago Silva will be missing due to a hip problem for both the trip to Ecuador on 1 September and Colombia’s visit to the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus on 6 September.
Brazil has nine points and is in sixth place in its qualifying group.
The Selecao are now sixth in the South American zone qualifying standings for 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation.
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Tite said the captaincy could be rotated between Neymar and other experienced players such as Inter Milan central defender Miranda and Juventus right-back Daniel Alves.
