Brazil XI that will not be playing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Midfielders: Fabinho, Oscar and Anderson Talisca

Fabinho has never received a call-up under Tite

Before I discuss the three midfielders I picked for this XI, let me just say that Brazil has so many options in midfield that I had to leave out the likes of Arthur, Ramires, Giuliano, Lucas Leiva and Diego!

In my opinion, the most notable player left out of the Brazil squad and the one who certainly deserved a call-up is Fabinho of AS Monaco.

Fabinho has been one of the better defensive midfielders in Europe for the last two years and several top European clubs are hoping to sign him in the summer. But Fabinho has never been called up to the national team by Tite! It is understandable because the two players Tite has picked in his position are Casemiro and Fernandinho!

There were calls to pick Fabinho after the injury to Dani Alves as Fabinho used to play as a right-back before successfully converting to a defensive midfielder. However, Tite was unlikely to take such a big risk going into the World Cup.

Oscar scored the last goal for Brazil at the World Cup

Oscar is the scorer of Brazil’s last World Cup goal - a consolation goal when Germany put seven past the Brazilian’s in the World Cup semifinal.

The former Chelsea man’s exclusion is not surprising as only one Brazilian plying their trade in China has made the cut and that is Renato Augusto. Augusto’s inclusion is mostly because he has played under Tite at Corinthians and the manager trusts the player.

Talisca is linked with a move to the Premier League in the summer

The final midfielder on this list is Anderson Talisca who is also uncapped at the senior level. Talisca played the last two seasons for Besiktas on loan from Benfica and scored 36 goals in 77 games!

Aged 24, Talisca has plenty of time on his hands to break into the Brazil team but he may have to move to a more competitive league and show his worth and to subsequently enhance his chances of playing for Brazil.