Will Neymar be on Brazil’s World Cup squad? | ESPN FC Extra Time

Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. We've had some big important games today. It's been the UEFA World Cup playoff, the semi-final stage. We found out who's going to be in the finals. It is a mouthful. There's all different ways to say it. I think I managed to get it out and explain where we are. We have Frank, we have Gab, we have Ale here in the studio. And our first question is Gab and Kay, can you sleep more calmly tonight with today's results? Well, I'll put that to the actual Italian here, Gabriele Marcotti. Yeah, no, I don't think I would have slept tonight if this had all ended tonight. Because, you know, there's levels of humiliation and going out in the first round of the playoffs, the World Cup path or whatever it's called, path A, that would have been a little too much. So yeah, onwards and upwards, you can logic yourself into saying, aha, we have better players. So we'll be just fine. But as we know, the team of the best players doesn't always win. You have to show up on the day, you have to perform and there's variance and there's randomness and all that good stuff. So no, I don't think I'm going to sleep very well until Tuesday night. And then only if things go according to plan. But at least it is still in the plans right now. Go on Frank. There is one thing that maybe can give some comfort, you know, to Gab and yourself, that, you know, in the 90s, France didn't qualify for the World Cup. 1984, they didn't qualify for the World Cup and they won the next one. So, you know, you never know. After two World Cup misses, you can get it, you can win it. Do you want to tell us some of the players that were in that France team that won it, Frank? Conveniently. I don't remember. I forgot. It's too far. It's too long ago. So I don't remember. But even beyond the Frank joke, do you want to tell us some of the rest of the players in that team when you actually are looking at the France team you are talking about and this Italy team right now? Well, that's true that it's hard to compare, you know, with the talent that we had and what I see with Italy, which is very sad because we have none. And I played against Italy and I played against a big club in Italy. So the football in Italy is not the same. But you never know. I mean, we've been a lot of times criticized by the press, the way we were playing. Emme Jacquet was at the age, you know, to get out of here. And we were very criticized before the World Cup in 98. So, you know, it's maybe the same for Italy. Maybe they're going to rebirth and be exceptional for the World Cup in the summer. You know, you have taken this conversation a different direction. You deflected to Frank. You went this way and that way. Can you answer the question? Because it is addressed to you and Gab. Can you answer? Yeah, I do share a bed with an Italian. So I think that I'll probably sleep more calmly tonight because he won't be talking in his sleep going through all the upset. And so I share a house with two hybrid Italians as well. And can then you share with the people the emotion that you felt while we were doing a show and we're watching over there the goal by Tonali? I don't know what you're talking about. Okay, people deserve the truth. They can handle the truth. I cheered for Tonali's goal. I have a whole Italian family. I know, but it was an angry celebration. It was a celebration of like finally you're going to let me sleep tonight sort of celebration. I mean, since we've been married Italy have not been in a World Cup. So you're the problem. Maybe, maybe it's me Frank. Oh boy. Maybe it's me. Okay, it's you. It's you. It's for sure. It's you. You have to find a responsible for that. You know, that cannot be Italy. It has to be you. Yeah, don't blame me Italians. Okay, what's more worrying? A manager hearing voices or one who respects the ball? Okay. So this is to do with Gattuso and one of his quotes which I think I've got here for you. He said, I'd be lying if I said when I put my head on the pillow at night, I didn't hear the voices saying take us to the World Cup, take us to the World Cup. I hear it and this is certainly the most important game of my career, even if I've been coaching for a few years now. So what's more worrying for you Gab? Okay, now here's the thing. All right, if you're Nino Gattuso and kind of your whole persona as a manager is sort of like, you know, you know baby animal from Baby Muppets and and he's to run around the pitch. He's got crazy needs to be all about intensity and passion and drive. And yeah, you probably do believe that he's superstitious and he hears voices and so on. It fits the character. It's on brand. Leroy Rossinier, because of course, that's the guy who respects the ball. It's on brand for him too because you know, he's got the little glasses. He's educated. He speaks in complete sentences. He's got this sort of New Age Zen vibe. I think the big difference between the two is that the New Age Zen manager in English football rarely works unless he gets the results. The manager who screamed or the coach in any sport who screams and shouts and is passionate and motivated. That's very easy for fans and frankly players to digest and to lap up. So in that sense, I think Gattuso has an easier time and I'd be a little bit more worried about Rossinier even if he's being perfectly honest about communing with the ball, respecting the ball, you know, whatever he likes to do with the ball. Who would worry you more, Frank, as a Chelsea man? Well, I'm worried for both. I think they should see a shrink, you know, at some point, you know, because they have to talk about something, both of them. Well, it's only, you know, talking to the press. It's only what you want to say because we all know that both are saying BS's. So really, I'm worried for both of them and for their future as well. You know what? Frank, I've known Rino Gattuso for way too many years. I'm telling you, he is not BS-ing. He really does hear the voices. He really is like this. He is not playing a character. You can go and, look, whatever, but you know, you could go on YouTube, find the press conference he gave when he was in Greece when he started swearing in five different languages and mixing them all up. I mean, it's, this is who he is for better or worse. He has one great quality, which he's developed over the years, which is, he knows his limits. He's not going to try to do, try to be too clever. He's not going to do, try to do anything too sophisticated. You know, he's going to work on his strengths and push his strengths and try to minimize his weaknesses. But this is, this is who he is. He really does, you know, hear voices, speak to angels, eat raw steak for breakfast. This is what he does. You would have a real problem. And I mean a real problem. If you heard voices that told you to respect the ball, that's when you have a problem. The combo package of doom. All right. And I'm not, I'm not expecting Gattuso to be sophisticated, for sure. You know, after what I've seen him on the, after seeing him on the pitch, you know, no, no sophistication from him. Tell him that to his face, Frank. All right. Okay. Well, now I can do. Before, no, but now I can do. Sure. He cannot run anymore. So I can, I can take that and run. You see, sticking up for Italians. You see, you see why people say the things that they say. There isn't a rhyme for happy wife, happy life, but it's like for the husband version, but it's that basically. All right. Okay. In-laws, a lot, everything else. Okay. We started with the husband, then you went to the kids, and now the in-laws. Yeah. All the Italian passport holders in my life. Okay. Will Neymar be on the Brazilian squad for the World Cup LA? He has a better chance now than he did before, given the injury to Rodrigo. The issue with Neymar is very simple. Fitness has been a problem and continues to be a problem. And even when he was fit, allegedly, wasn't playing at a high level consistently. And if you look at Brazil, their issue is not so much on the front end of the field. It's far more in terms of what they get out of the midfield, and if they find consistency in the back line. Now, you would assume that Marquinhos and Gabriel would play in the center-back position, and that would resolve that. But that still doesn't address the fact that on the right, right-hand side, you don't have a right back that is really going to be a threat in the attack. You don't have the same thing on the left-hand side. It puts a lot of pressure on the midfield to create. And then you would say, well, that's where Neymar fits in. But then that's one more player for Brazil that is really not going to give you work defensively. And so then Carlo Ancelotti has to say, is this worthwhile? Is the juice that I'm going to get from Neymar worth the squeeze? It's the circus of Neymar being part of this team. Is it worthwhile for me to have around this team? If Neymar is unable to show that he can be fit and 100% and ready to go ahead of the World Cup, the decision with Carlo Ancelotti will be very straightforward. If Neymar plays lights out from here till whenever Carlo Ancelotti has to make up his mind, then it's going to be really difficult to leave him out because every single news outlet in Brazil is asking exactly the same question. Will Neymar be there? If he were up to me, given what I know now, not what will happen in a couple of months, what I know now, I would say, no, thank you. This is not a lifetime achievement award. This is about who are the best players right now for my team. Even we asked Bebeto on the pregame tonight because we did the friendly. Yeah, we're all asking it. We're all talking about it. What do the guys make of what Tuchel said about Trent Alexander-Arnold? So this is about why he's been left out of England's friendlies and Tuchel said this, I know it creates noise when you leave a player like Trent out. We had a call. I tried to explain the situation. He just has to accept it. It's just a choice, a sportive choice, a difficult choice, and maybe a hard choice, and maybe to a certain degree unfair, but these choices have to be made. He goes on to say he knows what Trent gives the team and why there are other players in his place. Gab, I'm coming to you on this. I mean, I don't know what's unfair about the choice. He's been injured for a big chunk of the season. When he's played, he's been good off on the ball and not good off the ball, which is kind of like the story of his career. So if you have a setup where you're going to accommodate him not being good off the ball, you know, maybe you make a pathway for him. If you have two outstanding centre-backs like Liverpool's have had in recent years, maybe you make a pathway for him. That is not the case with England right now. Right now, you know, Esri Kamsa is likely to start at centre-back for England. If you have no other choices, or you don't have choices that you trust, again, not the case with England, because, you know, you look at Rhys James, you look at Tino Livramento, you look at, he has other options there. I don't think he needs to, I don't think people need to obsess over it. I don't, certainly if I'd been there, I wouldn't have asked them, hey, why is Trent Alexander-Arnold not there? It's as if he, as if I were Brazilian and asking about Neymar. You know, we're talking about a guy who, who's got other players in that role. Yeah, sure. If he gets back to where he was before, fine. And maybe Tuchel wants the option of adjusting the team to, to suit Trent's skill set. But, you know, you're seeing it around Madrid this season. He's not at Liverpool anymore. He has to carve out a new role, reinvent himself, and then maybe that's his pathway back into, into the national team. But right now, you know, it's, it's not unfair, Tommy. Go ahead. Just say like, it's not unfair. Having people who are more reliable than you and perform better than you. That's not unfair. That's just life. Frank? I 100% agree with, with Gab. I mean, it's not unfair because you have better players than him. and Tuchel tries to find stability at the back and a real defender. And if you have Regems or you have Livermanto, I think in the, in his, in his comments, Tuchel was talking even about Ben White. I don't know if Ben White can want to play for the national team now, but he was naming players that are better than, than Trent Alexander-Arnold. Defensively. Yes, of course, offensively, what Trent can bring is very interesting, but I don't think it's what Tuchel is looking for. So that's not unfair. The choice is a fair one, according to what Tuchel wants. Agree with the guys? Yep. Okay. I sure do. Frank, be honest. Does France have any chance of winning the World Cup with Konate and Upamecano in the defense? You know what? That's crazy. Because that was the 9th or the 10th time that they played together and they started together, and they never lost a game playing together 10 times. So it says a lot, you know, but yes, yes, of course, if you compare with some other duels, you know, throughout the French national team history, like Blanc, Desailly, like, I forgot, sorry. No, no, I wanted to mention me. I want it. No, no, no. Umtiti and Varane, I wanted to, Umtiti and Varane, that was, that was stronger for me. But again, it works. Konate and Upamecano never lost when they played together. And today, before Upamecano red card, it was working better than the Brazilian defense, even if Gabriel and Marquinhos weren't there, but it works. And so far, Deschamps has to be satisfied with a, with the duo. I'm not worried. I'm not worried because that's, you have many on the back and that's a good, that's a good enough. Can I make a point about this? I'm not, since we, we have a guy who played center back here at a rather high level. If you look around and you ask yourself, what countries have rock solid defensive pairings that we all feel really, really good about? It's not many. Look at Spain, center backs. Look at England, center back. Look at Argentina's likely center backs. I don't see sort of, you know, but is in Costa Couta is back there. A lot of people have issues at center back. I'm certainly among the top nation. It's a great segue for the next question. It's the next question. That's a very good point. He made the next question says France have the best attack. Spain have the best midfield, but who has the best back line in international football? So go ahead, Frank. My concern about the new the football in the new era and this era. I think that coaches forgot to teach players to how to defend and it's hard to name somebody like Sergio Ramos before or others. Van Dijk was like that at the beginning of his career and since he's been injured, he changed but have a hard time to say. Oh, what a defender? What a strong guy. Yeah, you have Saliba, you have Gabrielle, you and Marquinhos that maybe, maybe it's Brazil at the best pair in the central defense. Maybe that's why maybe they can do something during the workout. But after that, it's complicated. But yeah, that's pain at the best midfield, but they have very good people at front as well. And France, they have a good midfield midfield as well. So and I think France is are better than than Spain defensively. There is a contest, of course, but I think they are better. Good question, isn't it? Well, I think what we can all agree and I don't want to make this about Italy, but it it fits the conversation. There are no kind of vitals walking around and even even the top end center backs those that you will consider to be elite the best. You name whoever you may think is the best still not as good as the best was back then and and maybe Frank has a valid point in terms that there has been so much conversation about ball possession and attacking players and and building from the back that you forget about the actual art of defending. There isn't enough at least in my estimation enough nasty defenders enough players that as a striker, you would be very knowledgeable and conscious as to where they are on the field players that are intimidating that their presence on the field and their leadership on the field really dictates how the game is going to be played. Even those that are the best and you can consider them. Maybe up on the kind of someone the best you can consider that cannot that may be among among the best. I don't think they are but they could very well be in that conversation. You watch those guys place and their mistake prone. You couldn't say the same thing about the defenders of Frank's time the best of the best at that level and back in those days seem to be a seem to have distance themselves from the best right now. Next question. Yeah, go ahead. I think it's also telling that you know, I a we can conclude that Brazil and in Gabriela Marquinhos, if you want to say they have the best center back pairing in the world. It's also pretty telling that neither of those two is the best center back on their club team because I think most people would take Saliba and Pacho ahead of the those two respectively. So I think that's a very very valid point that the alley is making there as well that you know in terms of the dominant defender who's in that it was in that role. Maybe you could have put Van Dyke up there until recently. But but yeah, there's sort of a vacuum for people to for somebody to step into right now. Next question. What's the biggest penalty shootout you were ever a part of? All of them that when I was part of it and we won. It's the one that stands out though Frank. Now really I don't remember having a long shootout session, you know, like finishing 8-9. I don't remember that. No, nothing. Nothing really comes out for me, but no, nothing. 2011 Copa America semifinal against Paraguay and Gab's friend Ortigoza. Good Lord. I hated that guy. In any case and he scored a penalty. I believe in that penalty shootout. We lost the semifinals in Copa America 2011 and penalties against Paraguay and it's actually one of the things that bothers me the most if I look back in the career, which I don't do often. But if I were when I sat back, I've already been taken out of the game by then but there was a thought as the game was going into penalties. I wanted to go and tell our coach. Hey, if we go to penalties our second goalkeeper is longer and was really good at penalty kicks and I knew this because we would take penalty kicks against both the starter and the second goalkeeper and I hesitated in making that decision and I always look right. It wasn't my job to make that decision, but I always that at least I should have floated the idea. Then maybe we will go with this guy. This guy is more difficult to score against in penalties. I didn't and so that's still even now still bothers me. One of those things that keeps you up at night. Yes. Yes, it does. It's like Italy not making it to the World Cup. We'll see that's going to be the case. Ale, which team are you supporting for the World Cup this summer? Just a reminder why he has to do that. Thanks. Well, I've had to do that my whole life. You know, I've never had the pleasure of supporting my own national team. Not when I was a player not in the World Cup and usually it was for those of us in Venezuela. You had a choice to make because we would support a South American team and it was either Argentina or Brazil and when we were in the 98 World Cup, my brother, my dad and I were gallivanting all over France with Brazilian jerseys on and people would be like, oh, is it you guys hardcore Brazilian fans? No, we're actually from Venezuela. So historically we would have supported Brazil, but now not really because once you start playing against these teams, you I think they lose sort of that magic that you had as a kid and you lose that sort of fanaticism. If you will, you're not you're not so keen to go and support other people that are not wearing your jersey. And so, yeah, I wouldn't support any of them. I would like South American teams to do well, but we're here in the United States, US of A baby, huh? Land of the free, home of the brave. World Cup here in the United States. It's better for all of us that cover the game in this country for the United States to do well. That's very strange, you know, because Kay is supporting Italy. Ali is supporting Brazil and I received a picture from Dan. You invited Dan. I found four tickets from the French Federation, four tickets for his wife, Brazilian and his two kids and he sent me a picture of him with the Brazilian tracksuit and say thank you for the ticket, but come on Brazil, you know, people are strange nowadays, you know, they don't want to support their own country. He didn't just send a picture. He also put it on social media just to let everybody know that he was supporting Brazil on Frank's ticket. Frank, I would support Venezuela if I could. If Venezuela were in the World Cup, you would see me with a jersey all along. No, you have an excuse. The two others, they don't, you know, they don't. Football is coming home and they don't care. Let's see how Brazilian he is if Brazil face England. All right. Okay. Ooh, yeah, yeah. I know he will turn. He will turn his back. Yeah, I know. All right, guys. Thank you so much for sending in your questions. We will be back tomorrow to do it all over again on Extra Time.