2022 World Cup: Difficult For Jesus To Start Ahead Of Richarlison, Says Rivaldo

By Damilare Adeleye

Brazil legend Rivaldo said it will be difficult for Gabriel Jesus to bench Richarlison in the Brazil national team in the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In a media chat, Rivaldo believes Jesus must be patient for his World Cup chance after Richarlison’s impressive performance against Serbia, citing that the player’s partnership with Neymar and Vinicius Junior in attack causes opposition defenders ‘a lot of problems’.

Rivaldo said: “If Gabriel Jesus was fighting to become a starter in the Brazilian national team his space was closed by Richarlison against Serbia and now the Arsenal striker just needs to be patient enough to wait for an opportunity that should come if Brazil gets to the latter stages of the tournament… When you score the winning goals, of course you’re the star of the day but I would also like to highlight how strong Brazil were collectively, always having the control of the match against Serbia and creating them a lot of problems through the 90 minutes of play.”

“Richarlison was the one dismantling Serbia’s resistance with an opportune touch for the first goal and a superb execution on the second which I think is the most beautiful goal of the tournament so far. I see Richarlison taking a lot of confidence from this match and having a solid campaign that might guide him to the top of the scorers list at the end of the tournament. He seems to have a particular taste for scoring with the national team and after such a prolific performance I’m sure he is now seen as an absolute certain starter and an obvious candidate for the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot,” he added.