West Ham United: Lucas Paqueta expected to miss Brazil v Cameroon in World Cup clash
Brazil are expected to rest their key players against Cameroon on Friday night according to Globo, with West Ham ace Lucas Paqueta likely to miss out.
Paqueta has started in both of Brazil’s World Cup matches so far, but it seems his run of games is set to end on Friday night against Cameroon.
Brazil have already secured passage to the last 16 after back-to-back wins, and so the five-time World Cup winners will rest many of their key players, with Brazilian outlet Globo predicting a “totally modified” lineup.
That likely means West Ham’s summer signing will be handed a rest or possibly be limited to a small substitute cameo as Brazil look to maintain their 100% win rate in the tournament.
Good news
After taking his time to settle into the West Ham squad, it’s been great for Hammers fans to watch Paqueta’s talents on show at the World Cup.
The 25-year-old has been deployed further back in midfield alongside Casemiro and has thrived in the role compared to the more attacking freedom he’s given in east London. It’s certainly a tweak that Moyes will likely want to explore in the second half of the season.
But more importantly for Moyes, he’ll simply have his fingers crossed that his Brazilian star gets back to the London Stadium in one piece.
Paqueta will be crucial for West Ham as they look to turn around their poor Premier League form, and an injury at the World Cup would cause Moyes a huge headache.
Thankfully, Tite has been consistently rotating and changing his midfield during games, meaning Paqueta so far hasn’t been too overstretched.
However, with Brazil expected to go far in the tournament and challenge for the trophy, Paqueta could be in for a long winter.
So every rest he’s handed is a huge boost for West Ham. Watching him on the bench on Friday night might be more enjoyable than watching him on the pitch.