Author: Soorya G
The Brazilian national team suffered a major blow with the injury to Danilo, who was ruled out of the World Cup qualifiers. Following Danilo’s injury due to a muscle strain suffered in the first half of the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Thursday, coach Fernando Diniz called up Tottenham’s Emerson Royal. The Tottenham Hotspur star will join the national team on Saturday.
The team’s next match is scheduled for Tuesday against Uruguay. The game against Uruguay, the fourth of their qualifying campaign so far, will be played at the Estadio Centenario.
Emerson Royal, who came through the youth ranks at Ponte Preta and previously played for Atlético Mineiro in Brazilian soccer, represented Real Betis and Barcelona on his introduction to European soccer before moving to the north London club two seasons ago.
Initially, the England full-back is expected to be a substitute in the match against Uruguay. Yan Couto was called up to replace Danilo after his injury against Venezuela and performed admirably, which perhaps suggests that he will take over the starting position on Tuesday ahead of Royal. Royal hasn’t been a starter for Tottenham Hotspur either, having started on the bench in four of their five Premier League matches.
Tottenham Hotspur, under new coach Ange Postecoglou, have enjoyed a resurgence with an unbeaten start to the league season. The Spurs have won six of their eight games this season under the Australian, with new signings James Maddison, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario all performing well.