Arsenal forward receives late Brazil call-up

Gabriel Martinelli has received a late call-up from Brazil for the November international break, having initially been excluded from the squad list.

When Brazil announced their call-ups for the international break last week, Gabriel Magalhaes was the only one of the three Gabriels involved in the squad – with both Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli left out.

There’s a lot of competition in forward areas for Brazil right now, so Martinelli has been in and out of the squad lately, particularly given his relatively inconsistent form for Arsenal.

But Brazil have now given Martinelli a late call-up following an injury to Real Madrid star Rodrygo.

The CBF announced the decision on Saturday, writing that Real Madrid duo Rodrygo and Eder Militao were both pulling out of the break due to injuries sustained in Saturday’s match.

Arsenal’s Martinelli will replace Rodrygo, and Leo Ortiz of Flamengo will take Militao’s spot.

Brazil will face Venezuela and Uruguay over the break, with both matches part of the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

After two wins in the October break, Brazil are in a much better spot with regards to World Cup qualification. They sit fourth in the table with more than half of the matches played.

The top six teams of 10 will automatically qualify for the World Cup, with the seventh also getting a chance to make it in through an inter-confederation play-off. A few more wins and Brazil should be relatively sure of their place.

Venezuela would be a good team to beat, as they’re in eighth, meaning Brazil could widen the gap to the places that would see them miss out.