Manchester United midfielder Andrey Santos was in action for Brazil on Tuesday against Australia, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4-2 win.
With no Matheus Cunha in the Brazil squad over this extended international break, Manchester United’s sole representative in the Selecao was £48m summer signing Andrey Santos.
Santos has sunk into obscurity for United in the opening weeks of the season, failing to nail down a starting role, and with pressure mounting on Michael Carrick, the Brazilian clearly doesn’t have his trust right now. But Carlo Ancelotti remains a fan, and he featured for Brazil ‘down under’.
Andrey Santos cameo for Brazil fails to impress
Santos was snubbed completely by Ancelotti against Australia last week in a 1-1 draw, left on the bench, which indicated he isn’t high in the thinking of the Selecao boss. But that changed on Tuesday as Santos got just over half an hour to make his mark.
In this time, he did have an impact, as Brazilian outlet Ge Globo complimented how he was, “important at the beginning of the third goal bid, with a quick touch.” However, this only earned Santos a 6/10 match rating with the criticism that his passing was poor, with “little prominence” for Brazil on the ball as he completed 13 of 17 passes attempted..
United’s number 17 also failed to get a glowing review from Goal Brasil, as they rated him as a 6/10, despite his ability to solidify the midfield after his introduction, winning five duels and four defensive contributions in the cameo.
Neither of these reviews of Santos’ performance covers him in glory, nor do they indicate there will be a mandate to see the United midfielder start against India later this week. But the most damning verdict came in from GZH.
The Brazilian outlet rated Santos’ showing as 5/10 with a pretty damning message directly to the 22-year-old, “you still need to show more to assert yourself as a piece of the National Team”, the outlet wrote in their notes of the game.
Santos should be playing more for Brazil right now. He is a better midfielder than some of the others being prioritised, but perhaps Ancelotti is trying different combinations, and his chance will come in the next game.
Having lacked football at United this season, 90 minutes against India would be a real chance for Santos to build some confidence and also fitness before he hopes to play a bigger role for the club after this break ends.
But one thing is certain, Santos needs to be better and more impactful if he plans to force his way into the starting line-up for Brazil.
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