Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has earned his first call-up to the Brazil national squad by Coach Tite, although club teammate Marcelo has been omitted.
18-year-old Vinicius has made 26 first-team appearances for Los Blancos since his €45m summer move from Flamengo, netting four goals.
“He has evolved very quickly at a hugely demanding club,” Brazil boss Tite told reporters.
“That entire experience will allow him to develop into a star and that is why we have called him into this squad.”
Vinicius wrote about his ‘delight’ on Twitter and continued: “I admit that I have joy but I am surprised…everything is happening very fast in my life! I want to thank everyone who has helped me to this point.”
Vinicius is in the squad partly due to a foot injury to Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, while Marcelo – who has also fallen out of favour at Madrid – has not bee included in the squad to face the Czech Republic and Panama.
