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Ian Wright’s one-word reaction after Gabriel Martinelli is benched throughout Brazil’s World Cup exit
Ian Wright could not believe Gabriel Martinelli did not come on during Brazil’s World Cup exit at the hands of Croatia.
Tite did not turn to the Arsenal man across 120 minutes as his team drew 1-1 after extra time and then were eliminated on penalties.
Brazil have a frightening array of attacking options and it is not easy to get them all onto the pitch but Wright clearly thought the Gunners forward could have had a say in the game.
The 2018 finalists stunned the favourites to end Martinelli’s World Cup dream and set up a semi-final clash with Argentina.
Wright on Martinelli snub
Martinelli got a start in a rotated team against Cameroon in the final game of the group stage, which Brazil lost 1-0.
Perhaps he did not do enough to impress Tite there, but that feels like a harsh assessment of his qualities as a game changer off the bench.
Before the tournament, most would have thought Martinelli would have been a great option to bring on late in games against a tiring defence.
Wright clearly agreed but Tite did not bring him off the bench and is now dealing with the fallout of another disappointing World Cup for Brazil.
In every World Cup since they won it in 2002, Brazil have been knocked out by European opposition and perhaps one problem is they do not come up against it often enough.
Either way, Croatia are now one game away from repeating their feat from 2018, when they were defeated in the final by France.