Mauro Júnior hails first senior call-up: “Feeling beyond words” | OneFootball

Mauro Júnior is back with the Brazil National Team after six years, this time for his first opportunity with the senior squad during the Super FIFA window. Having been part of Brazil’s youth national teams between 2013 and 2020 — he was only not called up in 2017 — the left-back now sees himself fulfilling a dream and showed great excitement for his debut in an interview with CBF TV.

“I’m very happy with this opportunity. I can’t wait to get on the pitch and show what I can offer. Wearing this jersey is a feeling too big to fit inside me, and I’m ready to give everything I have to help,” said the player, who featured for Brazil’s Under-15, Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 teams between the ages of 14 and 21.

“It’s always an honor to defend this jersey; we know how much it means. I spent a lot of time with the youth national teams and, thank God, today I’m able to represent the senior national team here in Australia. All that experience with the national team was a huge learning process for me. It helped me grow as a person and also as a professional,” added the 2015 South American U-17 champion.

Mauro Júnior during his first training session with Brazil’s senior national team, in BrisbaneCredits: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

During that period, he played as a midfielder. In several call-ups, he even wore the No. 10 shirt. The move to left-back came after he was already playing in Dutch football, where he has been with PSV Eindhoven since 2017. With the club, he has won four national league titles (2017–18, 2023–24, 2024–25 and 2025–26), played more than 200 matches, and became captain.

“I played many years in midfield, and now, playing as a full-back, I see that they are completely different positions. In one, you play with your back to the opponent, and in the other, you face them. I think that suits my style of play a little better. At first, it was a bit difficult to adapt to playing as a full-back, but today, thank God, I feel very good and very comfortable playing there,” explained Mauro, who names Marcelo, Roberto Carlos and Branco among his inspirations.

Mauro Júnior, wearing the No. 10 shirt, in the official photo for a Brazil U-20 friendly against Chile in October 2018Credits: Fernando Torres/CBF

He is from the city of Palmital in the state of São Paulo, located more than 400 km from São Paulo city and home to 19,500 people, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) 2022 census. He came through at Desportivo Brasil before moving to European football.

In his first call-up, Mauro is part of the group that will begin Brazil’s new preparation cycle for the Copa América and the World Cup. There will be two friendlies against Australia and another against India, in which the newcomer hopes to secure three wins.

“The expectations are very high — definitely three wins. I’m extremely confident that those three wins have to be ours and, of course, we need to work really hard and be ready for these matches,” he concluded.

Mauro Júnior in an interview with CBF TV in Brisbane during his first call-up to Brazil’s senior national teamCredits: Joilson Marconne/CBF

Check Brazil’s schedule for this Super FIFA window:

Friday (September 25)

Brazil vs Australia — 7:00 a.m. Brasília time (8:00 p.m. local time), at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville

Tuesday (September 29)

Brazil vs Australia — 7:00 a.m. Brasília time (8:00 p.m. local time), at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

Saturday (October 3)

Brazil vs India — 11:00 a.m. Brasília time (7:30 p.m. local time), at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium (known as Salt Lake), in Kolkata

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.