Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 to begin their 2022 Qatar World Cup after two goals from Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur. He is just the third to play for Spurs and also score for the Selecao.
Through the Premier League club’s history, they have employed nine Brazilian players after signing Richarlison from Everton this July. The forward secured a £50m switch, rising up to £60m with add-ons, after agreeing a five-year contract to move to the north London outfit.
Richarlison had spent the previous four years on Merseyside after moving to Everton from Watford for £35m in 2018. His switch also featured £15m in add-ons and preceded the 25-year-old making his debut for Brazil that September. He now has 39 caps for the Selecao.
Richarlison got Brazil a win and a place in Tottenham’s history with World Cup goal
Richarlison celebrated his 39th appearance for Brazil by scoring his 18th and 19th goals for the South American nation. The Nova Venecia native has also provided seven assists since Tite first called him up. While his last seven games have featured either a goal or an assist.
Tite had to wait until the 62nd minute for Richarlison to break the deadlock as Brazil beat Serbia in Lusail. Orlovi were proving to be structured and stubborn in their defending. But Richarlison undid their hard work when he turned in the rebound of Vinicius Jr’s attempt.
Then, on 73 minutes, Richarlison lit up the Lusail Iconic Stadium with an early goal of the tournament contender. He initially miscontrolled Vinicius’ pass with the Real Madrid star’s cross floating behind the Tottenham ace. Yet Richarlison turned it into an acrobatic finish.
Finding the bottom corner of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s goal again saw the £90k-a-week ace secure the win for the Selecao. Richarlison is also now just the third player to both feature for Tottenham in their careers and also score for Brazil at a World Cup over all 22 editions.
Just featuring at the World Cup saw Richarlison make Tottenham – Brazil history
Just featuring at Qatar 2022 made Richarlison the third Tottenham alumni to play for Brazil at a World Cup, too. Heurelho Gomes did not play a second after making the Selecao’s side in 2010. Neither of Lucas Moura, Sandro or Emerson Royal have been to a World Cup yet.
One-time Spurs players Rodrigo Defendi and Carlos Vinicius have never represented their country at any age level. So, who were the previous two players to represent Tottenham in their careers and to also score for Brazil at a World Cup before Richarlison against Serbia?
Gilberto became the first Spurs alumni to score a World Cup goal for the Selecao
Gilberto became the first player to feature for Tottenham in their careers and also score a World Cup goal for Brazil in 2006. The left-back from Rio de Janeiro scored and laid on one assist during his only appearance in Germany. He helped to beat Japan 4-1 during Group F.
Carlos Alberto Parreira left the 35-cap defender on the bench for the Selecao’s other four fixtures in 2006. Gilberto also appeared twice at South Africa 2010 but did not start either tie, score or assist a goal. A cameo during the quarter-final also marked the last of his caps.
Tottenham only saw one goal from Gilberto during his brief career in north London. He hit home in a 4-0 Premier League win over West Ham United in March 2008. The derby match was also his first English top-flight debut after joining Spurs from Hertha Berlin in January.
Gilberto would leave north London in July 2009 to return to his native Brazil with Cruzeiro. He only enjoyed 10 appearances across all competitions with Tottenham and never laid on an assist. Gilberto later apologised to Spurs fans in an interview with ESPN for his troubles.
“It’s true, I had a nightmare at Spurs,” Gilberto said in 2018. “But I’d done well in Germany. I played for my country, and I’d won stuff in Brazil.”
Paulinho also hit home for the Selecao against Serbia during Russia 2018
Before Richarlison scored twice for Brazil against Serbia as an active Tottenham player, ex-Spurs midfielder Paulinho scored once against Orlovi at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Sao Paulo native broke the deadlock at the Otkrytie Bank Arena during the Group E match.
It remains the only goal the 56-cap international has scored on the FIFA stage in his career so far. Paulinho featured six times from a potential seven games at Brazil 2014 en route to a fourth-place finish. He also started during five of their fixtures in Russia four years ago.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil saw Paulinho represent his country on home soil as an active Tottenham player. He spent just two years in north London from 2013 to 2015 and played 67 times. The midfielder also registered 10 goals and seven assists across all competitions.
Tottenham signed Paulinho from Corinthians – where he again plays today – under former boss Andre Villas-Boas for £17m. But after two seasons, the midfielder left and moved to China with Guangzhou Evergrande for £10m. He remained there through until July 2021.
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