Bruno Guimaraes & Joelinton decisions made after nightmare since leaving Newcastle United squad
Newcastle United duo Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton are part of the Brazil squad facing South Korea today.
Newcastle United midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton will be hoping to put a nightmare journey to South Korea behind them as Brazil’s friendly match gets underway in Seoul.
The Brazilian pair, who started Newcastle’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, endured a brutal 30-hour trip to East Asia after problems with their flight out of Amsterdam
According to Globo Esporte, a broken window on the plane forced the flight to turn around. Guimaraes and Joelinton then travelled separately to Seoul before linking up with the Brazil squad.
After arriving in South Korea, Guimaraes took to Instagram to post: “Depois de mais de 30 horas here we go [After more than 30 hours here we go].”
Joelinton and Guimaraes missed some training in the build-up to the friendly match at the Seoul World Cup stadium but were later integrated into the group, with Guimaraes training as part of a suspected starting line-up group.
After facing South Korea, Brazil will travel to Japan for a friendly match in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Bruno Guimaraes & Joelinton decisions made
Despite the disrupted journey, Guimaraes has been named in the Brazil starting line-up to face South Korea today with Joelinton named amongst the substitutes.
The Newcastle captain is a regular starter for Brazil and will earn his 38th cap today, having already helped his nation qualify for next summer’s World Cup in North America.
Joelinton missed out on the last two Brazil squads due to injury, but is now back to full fitness and looking to add to his seven caps during the international break.
Brazil line-up to face South Korea: Bento, Vitinho, Éder Militão, Gabriel Magalhães, Douglas Santos; Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães; Estêvão, Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo.
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Bruno Guimaraes on international break
After scoring against Nottingham Forest and helping Newcastle to a second consecutive win heading into the international break, Guimaraes admitted that the two-week break from club football could stifle The Magpies’ momentum.
“The international break has not come at a very good time for us, because we just want to keep going,” he admitted.
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“But now we have to go to the international, play well and come back fit because we have a very important game when we come back.
“I'm going to South Korea, it's crazy. But yeah, we have to go there. Playing for my country is always a reason to be proud though for me. But it's a little bit far away.