Manchester United midfielder Casemiro and forward Matheus Cunha were in action for Brazil on Saturday at The Emirates Stadium, both having impressive outings.
For this month’s international break, Casemiro and Matheus Cunha only had to travel to London as Brazil took on the long-unbeaten Senegal side in a friendly ahead of the World Cup.
Both started in a 2-0 victory, and Casemiro was among the goals for Brazil, with the victory being a real statement that a sixth World Cup might be on the cards.
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The pair of Manchester United’s Brazilians will be key for Carlo Ancelotti’s side next summer in the World Cup, and their performances have been heralded by the local press in Brazil.
Casemiro scores for Brazil in starring performance
Casemiro is Brazil’s leader on the pitch, playing a starring role under his former boss at Real Madrid.
His performance against Senegal was top drawer, scoring in the process and earning plenty of plaudits from Brazilian media.
Globo rated Casemiro’s performance as a 9/10, explaining how he was impressive in all phases of the game.
“One of the great names of Carlo Ancelotti’s passage through the National Team. Firm and safe defensively, he has been increasingly participative in the offensive phase. Estevao’s goal comes from a condition of Casemiro building from the inside until the ball is left for the young man, and scored the second in a rehearsed play that had already worked against Chile and South Korea, in bids in which he was caught offside.”
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Another outlet, Bola VIP, rated Casemiro’s performance 8/10, praising his offensive threat.
“He participated offensively, headed dangerously, and scored a goal from a set piece. At the end, he committed some hard fouls and received a yellow card.”
Finally, O Gol gave Casemiro a 7.5/10 rating for the match, labelling him the owner of the midfield.
“Owner of the midfield, makes the ball disappear when necessary. Times, controls, accelerates, another great match of the midfielder, crowned by the second goal.”
Matheus Cunha is Brazil’s underrated most valuable player right now
Casemiro was top-class; however, despite not scoring, Matheus Cunha was also excellent, and this sentiment was shared by the Brazilian press.
Ruben Amorim on Matheus Cunha
Cunha is a maverick. Cunha does things that are hard to find in some players because he plays with the ball, but he has an aura that can do something to opponent’s heads and that is really important.
Ruben Amorim
Globo is heralded as a ‘fundamental’ part of the team, with a 7/10 match rating, stating that he deserves a goal.
“It has a fundamental role in tuning the offensive quartet. Another great performance with movement to open spaces for teammates and offensive power. He appeared well to finish from the entrance of the area and hit the crossbar, and soon after, he hit the crossbar with a typical centre-forward header inside the area. He deserves the first goal in the Ancelotti era.”
Bola VIP scored Cunha as an 8/10 for his performance, praising his creativity and effort level.
“He hit the dash twice and created great chances. Very mobile and participative, even without marking.”
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