Star reborn at Vasco: could Coutinho be on his way back to the Seleção? | OneFootball

Star of Vasco, semifinalist of the Copa do Brasil, and who has moved away from the relegation zone in the Brasileirão, Philippe Coutinho is experiencing his best moment since returning to São Januário. In the 3-1 victory over Bahia, the midfielder scored his 11th goal of the season, reached 15 direct goal contributions, and received praise from Fernando Diniz, who mentioned him as a candidate to compete in the 2026 World Cup.

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Coutinho's celebration in the match between Vasco and Bahia — Photo: André Durão

– I think he increasingly qualifies to be a name to compete in a World Cup. He has an advantage because he doesn't need to be tested. He increasingly puts himself in this position. He played a brilliant match. He scored a goal, could have scored a stunning free-kick. He trains more and more, is getting injured less and less. He qualifies game by game to be one of the candidates for a spot — said the coach.

With 40 matches played in 2025 (39 as a starter), Coutinho has 11 goals and four assists. It's his best performance since his loan to Bayern Munich in 2019/20, when he scored 11 goals and provided nine decisive passes.

The last call-up for the National Team happened in June 2022, when he was playing for Aston Villa. In that friendly against South Korea, he came on in the second half and scored a penalty. The expectation was to be in the Qatar World Cup, but an injury on the eve of the competition took him out of the tournament.

Now, at 33 years old, Coutinho has spoken again about the national team:

– Of course, wearing the National Team jersey is a dream. I had the opportunity to be there, for me, those were wonderful years, full of learning. Of course, it is still a dream. But it's not something I think about, I only think about improving compared to the last game. My mind is solely on that, focusing on being better than I was in the last game.

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Photo: Matheus Lima/Vasco.

While dreaming of regaining his place in the national team, Coutinho continues as a technical and emotional reference for a rising Vasco.

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