Brazil boss reveals why he brutally axed Man United’s Casemiro from the national team | OneFootball

Brazil boss Dorival Junior has revealed why he made the decision to leave Manchester United midfielder Casemiro out of his provisional squad for this summer’s Copa America tournament.

Casemiro was the shock exclusion from the Selecao’s provisional squad.

Junior selected 23 players despite being allowed to have 26, but there was still no space for Casemiro.

The last time the five-time Champions League winner was left out of the national team purely for tactical reasons rather than because of illness or injury was in the summer of 2017.

It would be hard to say that Casemiro’s axing in Junior’s plans is underserved. This season, the 32-year-old has looked like a pale shadow of his former self – not only in central defence where he has been temporarily filling in, but also in his favoured midfield role.

After a very positive debut season at Old Trafford, Casemiro’s performance levels have dramatically declined and he seems to be struggling with the rapid pace of the Premier League.

He was the main culprit on Monday night at Selhurst Park as the Red Devils were battered 4-0 by Crystal Palace. Arguably three of the four goals Erik ten Hag’s men conceded were down to Casemiro’s blunders and mistakes.

In his place in the Brazil team, Junior gave the nod to younger midfielders like Fulham’s Andreas Pereira, Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes, Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz, Wolves’ Joao Gomes and West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta.

The Selecao boss spoke to UOL and explained his reasons for dropping Casemiro.

He said, “Casemiro deserves respect from all of us. Three months ago, I told him what I expected of him. He knows very well what I think of him. I will contact him tomorrow and explain what the future may hold.”

“He’s a player who deserves consideration and we continue to see him as a player at this level. It’s the same with Thiago Silva, who I spoke to 10 days ago. They have history with the Brazil team and must be respected.”

The 62-year-old coach added, “Not calling (those players) up is just down to what we believe is best at this moment. Even though we have young players, the majority of them are playing at the highest level, in big competitions.”

Amidst all this, Casemiro’s long-term future at United remains uncertain and he has been mentioned as one of the players Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are keen to part ways with when the transfer window opens.

The former Real Madrid man continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.

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