Why Barcelona forward Raphinha will sit out Brazil's Cameroon game

Brazil are already looking toward the round of 16 at the World Cup. And since there will only be three days of recovery between their final group match, against Cameroon, and the start of the knockouts, coach Tite is considering a radical idea: making 11 changes against the Africans, who still have a remote chance of qualifying themselves.

One of the players who would rest would be Raphinha, who despite not having offered his best form in the victories against Serbia (2-0) and Switzerland (1-0), continues to maintain his untouchable status on the right wing.

The Barcelona forward, therefore, would have a full week of training between the match against the Swiss team and the round of 16, where Brazil could face Ghana, South Korea or even Uruguay.

Tite does not want to take risks, especially considering he has three serious injuries already. Neymar Jr. and Danilo continue to recover from their sprained ankles and, in theory, could already return next Tuesday. They have been joined by the absence of Alex Sandro, starter on the left side of the defence, with a hip injury.

The possible Brazilian XI, then, would be made up by Ederson in goal, who would replace Alisson who hasn't conceded a goal in the first two games.

The back four would consist of Dani Alves (who could debut in his third World Cup) on the right, a center-back pairing of Éder Militao and Bremer, with Sevilla's Alex Telles on the left.

In midfield, two Premier League footballers, Fabinho and Bruno Guimaraes, would form the double pivot and, depending on his performance in the game, Bruno could even make a case to start ahead of Fred in the last 16.

Further forward, there would be an attacking quartet, with Rodrygo performing the function of '10'; Antony in Raphinha's place on the right; the Arsenal striker, Gabriel Martinelli, on the left in Vinicius's position; and centrally, Gabriel Jesus, who still hasn't scored a goal in a World Cup.