Called up by coach Dorival Júnior to defend the Brazilian team in this year’s Copa América, left-back Wendell, from Porto, won another Portuguese Cup title. In this way, the athlete reached the third trophy of the competition, the sixth with the European club’s shirt (Primeira Liga (2021/22), Portuguese Cup (2021/22 and 2022/23 and 2023/24), League Cup ( 2022/23) and Portuguese Super Cup (2022).
Living in a good moment, the Brazilian had excellent performances in five of the seven matches he played, contributing an assist in the 4-0 defeat of Estoril, in the round of 16. Furthermore, during the Portuguese Cup, the team conceded only three goals.
“It’s another very special and unforgettable moment here in Portugal. I’m super happy to win another title here in Porto. We had a very good season, but unfortunately we ended up losing important points in the League and letting our rivals get away. We deserved to win a trophy and everyone is to be congratulated. We knew it would be a very tough game, against a very good opponent, who was the League champion and who wanted to win the Cup over us. We started losing, but we maintained our organization and with the expulsion of their player we managed to put pressure on from start to finish and I believe the victory was fair given what the game presented”, he highlighted.
Wendell ends the 2023/24 season with 36 games and the one that scored the most goals in his career. In total, there were seven direct goal contributions, including three assists and four shots in the net.
The athlete will compete in the Copa América between June 20th and July 14th, in the United States. Before that, he will also face Mexico and the United States, in friendlies on June 8th and 12th, respectively.
“Yesterday and today I celebrated a lot with friends and family, but, starting tomorrow, it will be time to rest and focus on Brazil. This week, I will present myself to the national team’s technical committee to begin preparing for the friendlies and the Copa América. I had the privilege of participating in the games against England and Spain and our group is very motivated and committed to fighting for the title in this competition that is so important for all of us”, he concluded.
This will be the third time that Wendell will defend Brazil’s main team. In addition to the friendly matches in March, he had also been part of the squad in the games against Bolivia and Venezuela, in 2016, in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On several occasions, the full-back was also present in the national team’s youth teams and participated in the entire Olympic cycle for the 2016 edition, in Rio de Janeiro, but ended up being left out of the tournament due to an ankle injury.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
