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An XI of Brazilian footballers with very English-sounding names

From Jo to Oscar, Fred to Douglas.
From Jo to Oscar, Fred to Douglas. From Jo to Oscar, Fred to Douglas.

From Socrates to Ronaldinho, Brazilian football history is full of names that scream Selecao, but with goalkeeper Alisson said to be in talks with Liverpool it’s a reminder that some are more English-sounding than others.

With that in mind, here’s an XI of players whose names wouldn’t sound out of place on the British Isles, from Walace to Miranda, Oscar to Douglas.

An XI of Brazilian footballers with English-sounding names
An XI of Brazilian footballers with English-sounding names (PA)

Defence

Alisson, Jefferson, Miranda, Cris and Douglas

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and Brazil's Miranda challenge for the ball at the 2018 World Cup
Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and Brazil's Miranda challenge for the ball at the 2018 World Cup (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP) (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP/PA Images)

Alisson heads the defence, the Roma man making his way to Liverpool to become the world’s most expensive goalkeeper at around 75 million euros.

In front of him is current Brazil centre-back Miranda, along with Jefferson, a 30-year-old left-back currently at Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona right-back Douglas and retired Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen and Cruzeiro centre-back Cris.

Midfield

Fred, Walace and Oscar

Brazilian footballer Oscar during an international friendly
Brazilian footballer Oscar during an international friendly (Adam Davy/EMPICS Sport) (Adam Davy/EMPICS Sport)

In front of that defence are three young midfielders who would prove difficult to get the ball off in a match situation.

Fred joined Manchester United earlier this summer at the age of 25 from Shakhtar Donetsk, one for Premier League fans to keep an eye on.

Hannover 96 midfielder Walace takes his place in the midfield alongside Fred, with two Brazil caps, and former Chelsea star Oscar will act as the playmaker, despite not having played for Brazil since 2015.

Attack

Bernard, Jo and Malcom

Brazilian footballer Jo at the 2014 World Cup
Brazilian footballer Jo at the 2014 World Cup (Joe Giddens/EMPICS Sport) (Joe Giddens/EMPICS Sport)

The front three meanwhile are a combination of youth and experience, with a former Premier League player starting up front in Jo, who won the FA Cup with Manchester City in 2011.

On the wings are Bernard and Malcom, the former a 25-year-old without a club, the latter a highly rated 21-year-old who plays for Bordeaux but has been linked with Everton too.