Antony Matheus dos Santos, a member of Brazil’s U-23 squad that won the Summer Olympics in 2020, will be a member of the senior national team in Qatar in 2022.
In readiness for the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off later in November, Brazil’s head coach, Tite, released his official list of 26 players for the competition.
What stands out most about Tite’s final squad is that there are nine forwards enlisted in the team, and it proves to be the team with the highest number of forwards being included.
Neymar of PSG in the French League, Vinicius and Rodrygo of Real Madrid, Raphinha of Barcelona in the Spanish League, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal, the forward for Tottenham, Richarlison and Antony of Manchester United in the English Premier League, and Pedro of Flamengo in the Brazilian League eventually make up the squad of nine forwards.
Brazil intends to play Italy in preparation for their matches against Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon.
Tite, Brazil’s national team manager, was at Old Trafford for United’s recent 1-0 victory over West Ham, so it’s no surprise that three additional Manchester United players were given the opportunity to play alongside Antony in the final 26-man selection issued by the head coach.
Fred, Alex Telles, and Casemiro would join Antony from Manchester United to join a Brazilian team desperate to win a sixth World Cup.
After moving to Old Trafford from Ajax in the summer, Antony became the only Red to ever score in each of his first three Premier League games.
The Brazilian is clearly establishing a name for himself; his 360-degree spin with the ball on the turf became the topic of soccer pundits, and he responded to critics about his 360-degree spin with the ball in a Premier League game.
He was spotted in a video jubilating when he watched on television that his name had been included in the final list for the World Cup.
He updated his official Twitter handle, @antony00, and captioned it, “For you!!! Thank you, God!! Thank you, everyone… friends, family, mom, dad, brothers!! Love you!!! Too much emotion!!”
