Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has backed Joelinton to earn a place in Brazil's World Cup squad after national boss Tite made an appearance at St James' Park over the weekend. The Selecao chief took his place in the directors' box before kick-off to cast his eye over the Magpies midfielder, as well as Bruno Guimaraes, Philippe Coutinho and Douglas Luiz.
Joelinton seized the opportunity with both hands, impressing from the outset and finding the net as Newcastle went 3-0 up in the second-half. When quizzed about the performance and the 26-year-old's chances of earning a call-up for the Qatar showpiece, Howe backed the fan-favourite to make the cut.
“Of course, I’d like him to go to the World Cup for obvious reasons for Joe,” he said. “He’s a top, top player, top person. I’m sure the Brazil manager’s very aware of Joelinton and his qualities and what he can bring, his versatility.
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"He’s got a lot of strengths. Seeing him close up will have definitely helped his detail of what he can offer the squad. Now, you talk about the Brazilian national team, and how many quality players they’ve got, there’s big competition for him, but I believe in the player. I believe he’d make a huge difference.”
Joelinton is yet to earn his first Brazil cap and faces a wealth of competition in both midfielder and attack. Manchester United duo Fred and Casemiro, along with Guimaraes, make up three of Tite's option in the middle of the park.
The head coach, along with his son and assistant coach Matheus Bachi will be at work across Europe this coming week before making a final call ahead of the tournament next month. As well as watching Newcastle, the head coach will also watch Manchester United v West Ham on Sunday, Liverpool v Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday and Juventus v PSG the following night.
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