Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Duncan Ferguson has tipped Tottenham Hotspur striker, Richarlison, to be one of the stars of the 2022 World Cup.
The Brazilian hasn’t had the best of seasons so far – he’s yet to find the back of the net in the Premier League for his new club and has struggled with injuries.
However, despite this, Ferguson believes that the forward could potentially be a Golden Boot contender at the tournament, stating that he has a sneaky feeling about the 25-year-old coming good for Brazil.
Richarlison’s tournament
Ferguson gave his view on the Golden Boot race.
“Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Mbappe. They’re the ones who will light up the tournament I think, and I think the Golden Boot will come from one of those. But I have a sneaky feeling about Richarlison for Brazil, they play him at centre-forward and I think he could do something for them,” Ferguson said.
Chance
Say what you will about Richarlison at club level, he’s always shown up for his national team.
17 goals in 38 appearances is a brilliant return, and if you’re playing up front for this Brazil side, you’re going to get chances.
With the likes of Neymar, Vinicius Jr and Raphinha feeding Richarlison, he’s going to get plenty of chances to score, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he did score a couple of goals at this tournament.
Unfortunately though, he’ll be heading to Qatar in poor form, and that could affect his chances of being Brazil’s first-choice number nine, especially as Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus have started this season in fine fettle.
Richarlison would surely shine if he got the chance to, but after a slow start to his Spurs career, Tite may opt to go in a different direction.
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