Murillo has shown incredible patience on international duty so far as he continues to await his Brazil debut, showing no signs of frustration about his role in the squad.
Nottingham Forest fans will know that the 22-year-old deserves a chance to show his talents on the pitch for Selecao, but Murillo has shown his pride in being involved in the Brazil squad, emphasising his strong character.
With Murillo spotted training with Vinicius Junior ahead of the Colombia clash, Forest fans would’ve finally believed that the centre-back’s time has finally come but Nuno Espirito Santo’s defensive star remained an unused substitute for the third time in his early Brazil career.
Brazilian fans believe Murillo deserves a chance so it’s not just those at the City Ground clamouring to get a glimpse of him and with the latest update from the Brazil camp, there is every chance that Murillo’s opportunity could finally be upon him.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gabriel’s suspension opens the gap for Murillo’s Brazil debut
Murillo is currently behind Marquinhos of PSG and Gabriel of Arsenal in Dorival Junior’s Brazil defence, with the coach preferring experience despite his own fans thinking otherwise.
Back in England, Murillo has been compared with Gabriel due to his commanding partnership with Nikola Milenkovic, but it looks as if the Forest man may finally get the chance to form a similar partnership on the international stage.
BREAKING: Alisson Becker has left the Brazil squad and returned to Liverpool due to injury.
Arsenal's Gabriel and Newcastle's Bruno Guimarães also return to their clubs after their yellow cards against Colombia mean they are banned for the next match of the international break. pic.twitter.com/JZHNzDR8K6
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 21, 2025
View Tweet
Sky Sports has confirmed that Gabriel has returned to Arsenal as his yellow card against Colombia has left him suspended for Brazil’s trip to face Argentina on Tuesday evening, giving Murillo his best chance yet of making an impact on the national team squad.
MORE FOREST STORIES
Murillo is statistically one of the best defenders in Europe so you’d like to think that it’ll be a no-brainer for Dorival to just swap him in for Gabriel, but there is competition for the available centre-back spot.
Murillo may be snubbed once again by Dorival Junior
With Murillo carrying around a world-record price tag, it surely makes sense for the Forest defender to deputise for Gabriel and even replace the Arsenal man should he impress against Argentina, but Dorival has a soft spot for another defender in the squad.
According to Brazilian outlet, UOL, Dorival is a big fan of Flamengo centre-back Leo Ortiz, who could get the nod over Murillo.
Back in November, UOL said: “Leo Ortiz impressed coach Dorival Júnior and was on the radar of the Brazilian national team even while he was a reserve at Flamengo.”
In fact, it seems that Murillo was only called up in November as Ortiz was yet to establish himself as a starter at club level, with the report continuing: “For this last list, the coach was in doubt between Léo and Murillo and opted for the latter. Dorival is a fan of Ortiz and was hoping for a sequence of starts to call him up to the national team.”
Evidently, Ortiz is someone that Dorival has immense faith in as he actively looked for a way to bring him into the national team when he wasn’t even starting for Flamengo.
At 29 years old, it surely makes sense for Ortiz to make way for the much younger Murillo to grasp the opportunity, but Dorival’s treatment of the Forest star so far means anything is possible.