Raphinha rediscovers the good feelings in Brazil. His dismissal in the first official match of FC Barcelona’s season at Getafe took him from the first ownership, to a subsequent suspension by the federation, to a visible loss in the ranks of forwards in the clash in which Barça played at El Sadar against Osasuna. The Barça team won 1-2 that day and the coach, Xavi Hernández, brought his forwards in stages, Raphinha already entered in the 90th minute, replacing Robert Lewandowski. In the qualifying match for the World Cup in Brazil, coach Fernando Diniz gave Raphinha the starting job and the 11 culé responded with a superb performance, scoring one goal, conceding another, intervening in two more and scoring high that score for the team. published the opinion of the five-time world champion nation.
Although the main role went to former Barça player Neymar by surpassing the legendary Pelé in the historical ranking of goalscorers of the ‘seleçao’ (79 to 77), both Real Madrid winger Rodrygo Goes and Barça winger Raphinha were widely applauded for their positive contribution. For Rodrygo, it was a way to make up for the missed penalty in the shootout against Croatia that led to Brazil’s elimination from the final World Cup in Qatar, while for Raphinha it was an injection of self-esteem before returning to Barcelona.
Globoesporte celebrated that “Neymar, Raphinha and Rodrygo shone in Diniz’s debut.” The Barça winger, who played on the right wing, highlighted his “excellent first half”. In its detailed analysis, Globoesporte pointed out that “Raphinha invaded the area and shot at goal. The good result came when he crossed the ball to score. He then made a good pass to Richarlison, who wasted it.” Brazilian popular media highlighted the merit of understandable rebellion on the part of the culé. “He wasn’t in Diniz’s first team yet (he replaced Vini Jr, who was sidelined due to injury), but he ended up being one of the best on the field.”
In its numerical scores, Globoesporte awarded Raphinha an 8, slightly lower than the popular vote (8.3), numbers surpassed only by Neymar (8.5 and 8.7) and Rodrygo (8.5 and 9.1).
Of all the attacking troops, the only one left unscathed was Richarlison. the Tottenham striker who even cried when he was replaced by Matheus Cuña. “He did not reach the technical level of his teammates and showed anxiety,” Globoesporte understands.
Neymar and Rodrygo, both with doubles, and Raphinha were liked for their chemistry. The colorful plays in which Raphinha participated were many. Rodrygo managed to make it 1-0 taking advantage of a rebound from a defender after Viscarra made a good save on a shot from Raphinha. As soon as the second half started, Raphinha made it 2-0 by sending the ball past the goalkeeper’s far post after a good fake. He also had a hand in the origin of the play that crowned Neymar as Pelé’s top scorer.
The next match before returning to club football is against Peru, in matchday 2 of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The Brazilian delegation will start this Saturday for Lima, the capital of Peru, where on Tuesday they will face the Peruvian team.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
