FIFA World Cup 2022: Martinelli was a bright spark for Brazil, does he deserve a start?

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Brazil couldn't continue their winning run in the World Cup after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cameroon last night. Vincent Aboubakar was the scorer for the African Lions as they bid adieu the tournament with a historic win.

Brazil boss Tite made nine changes to the starting lineup and gave the taste of the biggest stage to many of the squad players. Dani Alves started, so did Ederson at goal. Arsenal pair Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli also handed a starting spot. While Jesus didn't finish the match, Gabriel Martinelli played the full 90 minutes.

The 21-year-old started on the left-hand side of Brazil's attack and was one of the best players for the Selecao side. He was dynamic, bamboozling the Cameroon defenders with the ball and was a constant threat going forward.

The youngster started the match with a dashing run on the left hand side and providing a ball for Antony, who couldn't control and take a shot at the end. Moments later, Martinelli was at the end of a move and his header was just saved by Devis Epassy. He took 4 shots in the match and 3 of them were on target, but unfortunately couldn't cap that off with a goal.

Throughout the match, the Arsenal forward worked extremely hard. He came back to aid the defenders, making runs into the spaces, and his ball control and dribbling past players was a treat to see (completed 3 dribbles in the match). The forward also created 2 chances in the game.

Martinelli has done exceedingly well for the Gunners which led to his selection in the Brazil squad. He has netted 5 times for the Premier League club this season and has been one of the instrumental players who has propelled the Gunners to the top pf the Premier League table.

He came off the bench against Serbia and played the last 5 minutes but his exposure against Cameroon gives an idea that coach Tite has trust in the player. And with Neymar's availability still an ambiguous thing, should Martinelli expect more opportunities in the tournament?

Vinicius Junior has been playing on the left wing for Brazil in this tournament. The Real forward has been tremendous for them and has played in the first two matches. Martinelli was excellent against Cameroon, but it looks like he is still a bit down in the pecking order.

"It was an amazing experience. I think we played well. We lost the game but I think we played really well and now we go to the last 16 to win this tournament," a glowing Martinelli said after the match.

Although he may not be a regular this year, these days in Qatar will surely be the building blocks of transforming Martinelli into a much more mature player in the International aspect at least. This period at the global stage will clearly be a lifetime memory for Martinelli to cherish, and a monumental learning curve.

It was mostly a dead rubber given Brazil already through to the knockouts, but Martinelli can bid a case for Tite after Friday when it comes to the selection against more onerous opponents. Brazil will be taking on South Korea in their round of 16 match and it looks for now that Martinelli will be starting from the bench, but he has the ability to come on and do wonders.