Under 17 World Cup: Brazil's Lincoln ready to fill Vinicius void

KOCHI: The pullout of Vinicius Junior may have come as a big blow for the U-17 World Cup and Brazil may be sorely missing the services of their talismanic striker. But their coach Carlos But their coach Carlos Amadeu doesn't seem to be a worried man as he puts his boys through the paces in Kochi before their opener against Spain on Saturday. That is because Amadeu has plenty of players in his 20-member squad who have the potential to fill the void left by Vinicius.Paulinho, Brenner and Yuri Alberto are the some of the options available for Amadeu but one man he could bank on is Vinicius's former strike partner at Flamengo, Lincoln Correa Dos Santos.
The 16-year-old shot into prominence at Flamengo and formed a deadly pair up front with Vinicius. But it was the Brazilian U-17 team that reaped the benefits of the combo. While Vinicius pumped in seven goals to become the top scorer in the South American U-17 Football Championship, Lincoln emerged second with five goals.
Though he will miss his strike partner in India, Lincoln is confident of the depth in Brazil squad. “Vinicius is a wonderful player and he will be missed. But certain things are beyond our control. We have a quality squad and all our players are equally good,” said Lincoln.
Though Brazil have to face Spain in a highly intense opening fixture, Lincoln is not wary of La Rojita. “Spain is a good side but we too have some good players. We are preparing well for the tournament and we expect a cracking game on Saturday,” he said.