MORRISTOWN, New Jersey.– The Brazilian national team received encouraging news this Friday with the return of winger Raphinha to collective training, although everything points to the attacker not being fit to play in Sunday’s match against Norway for the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16.
The FC Barcelona player returned to work alongside the rest of his teammates at the Columbia Park training center in Morristown, after nearly two weeks of recovery from a muscle injury in the back of his right thigh suffered during the group stage match against Haiti.
Raphinha started the practice running alongside Neymar and participated without apparent discomfort in the session led by coach Carlo Ancelotti. However, sources close to the Brazilian national team indicated that his presence against Norway is unlikely as a precaution, although he could be on the bench to support the team.
If that schedule is maintained, the winger would only reappear in a potential quarter-final series, if Brazil manages to overcome the Norwegian team.
The training session was marked by the high temperatures affecting the east coast of the United States. The practice began with the thermometer reading around 35 degrees Celsius and a heat index exceeding 40 degrees.
The main absence in the session was midfielder Lucas Paquetá, who continues to recover from a left thigh injury suffered in the round of 16 match against Japan and has been practically ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
Brazil prepares to face Sunday’s match with the intention of advancing to the quarterfinals, where they would face the winner of the series between England and Mexico.
