PSG captain Marquinhos called up by Brazil

PSG captain and Brazil defender and long-time international Marquinhos has been called up to take part in the two friendlies Brazil has scheduled to play by mid-June.

The Canarinha will face Guinea at Barcelona's Stadio Cornella-El Prat in Spain on June 17th, followed by a matchup against Senegal at Lisbon's Stadio Jose Alvalade on June 20th.

This couple of games will mark the return of Marquinhos to the football pitch, as he's expected to miss next Saturday's PSG game against Clermont for the final matchday of Ligue 1 after suffering a musle injury a few days ago that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

Although unable to play against Strasbourg last weekend, Marquinhos did appear in the matchup at Auxerre on May 21st in which he was able to celebrate a 2-1 victory with PSG as well as his contract extension with the Parisian organization until June 2028, announced on May 20th.

Marquinhos has not played with the Brazil national side since he appeared in the 2022 Qatar World Cup quarter-final ending in a loss to Croatia in the penalty shootout. He was not called up in the prior international window last March when Brazil faced Morocco in a friendly. Neymar couldn't play back then, either, because of his season-ending ankle injury.

The defender returns to the squad this June while Neymar will keep recovering from his long-term injury trying to become available for PSG in time for the start of the 2023/24 season next August.

Brazil National Team squad for mid-June games

Goalkeepers
Alisson (Liverpool, ENG)
Ederson (Manchester City, ENG)
Weverton (Palmeiras)

Defenders
Ibañez (AS Roma, ITA)
Eder Militao (Real Madrid, SPA)
Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA)
Nino (Fluminense)
Danilo (Juventus, ITA)
Vanderson, (Monaco, FRA)
Alex Telles (FC Séville, SPA)
Ayrton Lucas (Flamengo)

Midfielders 
André (Fluminense)
Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle, ENG)
Casemiro (Manchester United, ENG)
Joelinton (Newcastle, ENG)

Forwards
Lucas Paqueta (West Ham, ENG)
Malcom (Zenit, RUS)
Pedro (Flamengo)
Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras)
Richarlison (Tottenham, ENG)
Rodrigo (Real Madrid, SPA)
Rony (Palmeiras)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, SPA)