EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, July 4 (Reuters) – Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Raphinha is ready to play a part after returning from injury in Sunday’s World Cup last-16 clash with Norway, but acknowledged his side would have to find a different solution to replace the injured Lucas Paqueta.
Raphinha returned to training on Friday after two weeks out with a hamstring injury sustained during Brazil’s group-stage win over Haiti. The forward is not ready to start, Ancelotti said, but could feature from the bench against a Norway side led by Erling Haaland.
“Raphinha is progressing very well,” Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday. “He is still not at 100%, but he is available to be on the bench and to be able to play a few minutes or be useful at certain moments.
“He recovered very well and very quickly. We are very happy with this because Raphinha is a very, very important player for the team.”
Brazil will be without Paqueta after the midfielder suffered a hamstring strain in their 2-1 win over Japan in the previous round, leaving Ancelotti to reshuffle his midfield.
“We don’t have a player in the squad with Lucas Paqueta’s quality, so we have to replace him with another player,” Ancelotti said. “The characteristics are different. Danilo is different from Gabriel, who is different from Matheus Cunha and Ederson.
“I will choose the player based on our game plan, obviously taking into account the strength of the opponent, but also what is functional to the idea we want to implement tomorrow.”
Raphinha’s possible return, alongside Neymar’s availability, gives Brazil added experience and invention in attack as they seek a place in the quarter-finals.
But Norway pose a formidable threat through Haaland, whose pace and power have made him one of the tournament’s most feared forwards.
“Everyone knows Haaland,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t have to explain to my defenders how Haaland plays. They know him better than I do because they have played against him many times.
“We are focused on preparing well for the match, obviously including Haaland’s characteristics, which we must take into account because he is a very, very dangerous forward.”
Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes said the key would be denying Haaland the service he needs to decide the match.
“We have to try to prevent the ball from reaching him,” Guimaraes said. “We will be attacking, but there always has to be someone glued to him so we don’t give him space, because we know that with just one ball he can decide a match.”
Guimaraes expects Norway to target Brazil from set pieces in what he described as a potentially cagey contest.
“They will put a lot of balls into our box and, at every corner or free kick, they will give everything to try to score,” he said. “We trained a lot during the week to neutralise their strengths. It is going to be a very difficult match.”
Ancelotti said the prospect of knockout football always brought concern, but insisted his players were ready.
“I am worried, as usual,” he said. “But worried does not mean anxious. I am confident. We improved, and I hope we can improve again tomorrow.”
(Writing by Julien Pretot in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
