Right up until the World Cup reached the Round of 8, the Selecao were the favourites for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
And with a squad featuring contemporary footballing giants like Neymar Jr., Thiago Silva, Casemiro, and Jesus, along with young guns like Vinicius Jr. and Richarlison, it was not a dream beyond reach.
And yet, in one of the greatest quarter-finals of all time, Croatia managed to kick any dreams of a Brazilian World Cup to the curb with a 4-2 victory in a nerve-racking penalty shootout.
Now, the 25-year-old Brazilian striker Richarlison seemed to be an immutable presence in Tite’s Selecao squad with 3 goals for Brazil through the group stages, and an absolute banger of a scissor kick against Serbia.
Following the heartbreaking exit from Saudi Arabia, Richarlison, via Mirror, commented, “Now it’s time to go to the bedroom and cry because we are human beings, we are flesh and blood.”
And while the Brazilian is back in action for the Spurs in England, his recent interview makes it clear that he is not over the World Cup debacle.
Spurs played the Gunners on Sunday and after being brought onto the field in the 71st minute, Richarlison managed to stir up some magic in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Despite winning a freekick and an impressive attempt at finding the back of the net, Spurs walked away with the Gunners registering 2 goals against them.
In the post-match interview, Richarlison was forced to take a mental trip back to Qatar when a journalist from ESPN asked him about his thoughts on the World Cup, and here’s what the 25-year-old had to say –
“It was a blow, I don’t know. I think it’s worse than losing a family member. It was difficult to recover. To this day, when I watch videos on my social networks, it makes me sad.”
The striker followed up his statement of despair by saying that he understands that the next step is to move on. He claimed, “I’m still young, I think I still have one or two World Cups to go. I will keep working hard so that things start to flow again, the goals start to come out, which is what I know how to do on the field.”
Given that Neymar, famously monikered as the Prince who never became King, has already hinted at retirement from International football, Richarlison may just have to step up his role in the International team.
But, for now, the Brazilian will turn to alleviate the Spurs from their unimpressive performance in the Premier League.
With the Spurs sitting in the 5th position below Manchester United and Newcastle, Antonio Conte’s squad will really have to put in the work if they wish to see a Champions League game this season.
