Ederson Out Of Copa America For Brazil, Who Can Replace Him?

With Copa America just weeks away from kicking off, Brazil have a concern for the marquee event which is due to kick off in United States on 20 June, 2024.

The squad announcement by Brazil is a mix of experience and youth, with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and the soon-to-be Madrid player Endrick leading the charge in the attacking lineup. Arsenal youngster Gabriel Martinelli has been named while Porto’s Evanilson is also going to be a part of the squad. In the defense Girona’s Yan Couto has made the cut. Key players like Neymar, Casemiro and Richarlison have all missed out.

Another high profile absentee for Brazil would be Manchester City’s Ederson who suffered a fractured eye socket in City’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham in their penultimate game of the league season. Ederson would now miss the FA cup final this Sunday against Manchester United and the whole of Copa America keeping Brazil’s goalkeeping position up for grabs.

Ederson’s Possible Replacements

With Ederson ruled out of Copa America, here are the few replacements that can start for Dorival Junior’s Brazil in June:

• Allison: Liverpool’s No. 1 spent a lot of time on the sidelines this season, missing 17 games through injury or illness – his longest spell out since 2019/20. But with Ederson’s injury Allison is expected be the obvious choice in goal for Dorival.

• Bento: Bento’s impressive form at club level over the last 12 months have resulted in several call-ups to the Brazil national team squad. Current Brazil head coach Dorival Junior opted to hand Bento his debut against England at Wembley. He went on to keep a clean sheet on English turf, as the highly-rated Endrick snatched the three points after 80 minutes. Now he has earned his first tournament call up and would have a role to play in this year’s Copa America.

• Rafael: Rafael, a goalkeeper for Sao Paulo, is another choice for Brazil this summer. Rafael has not made any senior appearances with Brazil despite being a part of the squad for previous friendlies. But Ederson’s omission from the squad has handed the 34-year-old a chance to feature in the event.

Nine-times champions Brazil kick off their Copa America campaign against Costa Rica on June 24 followed by Paraguay four days’ later and Colombia on July 2. Brazil will play friendlies against Mexico on June 8 and the U.S. on June 12 as part of their preparations.