Emerson Royal, Richarlison called up to Brazil national team for upcoming international break

Weird as it is to say two months after a winter World Cup, we have an international break coming up in a couple of weeks. Today, Brazil released its roster for an upcoming friendly against Morocco in Tangiers on March 25, and Tottenham Hotspur have two players participating — Richarlison, and Emerson Royal.

Richarlison is no surprise — he’s Brazil’s starting No. 9 and is coming off of an impressive World Cup campaign with the Seleção in Qatar, although Brazil were knocked out of the competition in the quarterfinals.

But this is exciting news for Emerson Royal. He has seven caps already for Brazil, but if he ends up on the pitch against Morocco it would be his first appearance for the Seleção since a sub appearance in a World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador in January 2022.

Emerson’s had an impressive run with Tottenham over the past month and has been rightfully keeping new signing Pedro Porro out of the starting lineup. Getting a call-up for the national team is excellent recognition for his improvement over the past number of weeks.

It’s a friendly, and few international matches are as meaningless as friendly matches held two months after a World Cup. That said, nearly all footballers want to play for their country so this is no doubt a thrill. As always, we send continued prayers for an injury-free international break.