Brazil’s Marquinhos and Richarlison Sidelined for Morocco Friendly Due to Injuries

Marquinhos is still in the recovery phase of an abdominal muscle injury and will therefore not be fit for the friendly match against Morocco scheduled for next Saturday in Tangier, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement, adding that Richarlison, for his part, was injured on Saturday during the Premier League match against Southampton and "left the field in tears".

Tottenham’s doctors have informed the Brazilian team doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, that the striker is not fit to play the friendly match against Morocco, which will be Brazil’s first match after their quarter-final elimination from the 2022 Qatar World Cup against Croatia.

Interim coach Ramon Menezes is still considering the possibility of calling up two other players to replace the injured ones, the CBF said, adding that the names of any potential replacements will be announced this Sunday when Menezes and the other members of the Brazilian team’s technical staff arrive in Morocco. According to the local press, defender Bremer (Juventus) could replace Marquinhos.

Richarlison and Marquinhos had exceptional performances at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and were on the initial list of players called up for this friendly match. With the two players out, only nine of those who played in the World Cup are on the list of 23 players called up for this match.