Lucas Paquetá will become just West Ham United’s second senior Brazil international after being named in his country’s 26-man squad for September friendlies with Ghana and Tunisia.
The Hammers’ new No11 has become an integral member of Tite’s starting XI in recent years and is almost certain to be named in Brazil’s 23-man selection for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar in November.
Before then, the 25-year-old will cross the English Channel to France, where the five-times World Cup winners will take on Ghana at the Stade Océane in Le Havre on Friday 23 September, and Tunisia at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday 27 September. Both matches will kick-off at 8.30pm local time (7.30pm in the UK).
Should he feature, Paquetá will follow Felipe Anderson, who earned his one and only cap while with West Ham in March 2019, by representing the Hammers in the famous yellow, green and blue of the South American country.
Just two players played more minutes in Brazil’s successful 2022 World Cup qualification campaign than Paquetá’s 959 – Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos and Juventus right-back Danilo. Paquetá scored three goals, in wins over Paraguay, Colombia and Bolivia, as Brazil dropped just six points in 17 matches to top the South American COMNEBOL qualifying table and reach their record 22nd consecutive World Cup.
Paquetá made his senior Brazil debut as a substitute in a 2-0 friendly win over the United States in New Jersey in September 2018, then scored on his first start in a 1-1 draw with Panama in the Portuguese city of Porto in March 2019. In July of the same year, he appeared once as a substitute – in a quarter-final victory over Paraguay – as Brazil won the Copa América at the Maracanã Stadium in his home city of Rio.
After playing a minor role as Brazil in 2019, Paquetá was a central figure as the Seleção reached the final of the 2021 tournament, which was again held in his home country due to the COVID pandemic. The 23-year-old scored the winning goals in the quarter-final win over Chile and semi-final victory over Peru, then started the final against Argentina in Rio, but Brazil’s biggest rivals edged Paquetá and his teammates out 1-0.
