Kemelli sees call-up as reward after nearly quitting football | OneFootball

Being called up for a friendly between Brazil and the United States a year before the World Cup is important in any professional player’s career. For goalkeeper Kemelli, being included once again on coach Arthur Elias’s squad list — her first call-up came in September 2023, for a training period at Granja — is a personal milestone.

A year ago, she almost gave up football. She spent five seasons and won seven titles with Corinthians, including the Libertadores in 2021 and the Brazilian Women’s Championship in 2021 and 2024. Her move to Fluminense at the start of this year came with challenges and required persistence, but today she recognizes that it was a necessary and strategic decision.

“I think it took me a while to come back [to the national team] because I wasn’t getting a run of games. Today I’m doing well at Fluminense, feeling good, happy, and then things start happening naturally,” she said at a press conference this Thursday (4) at CT Joaquim Grava.

According to the player, consistency on the field is essential, because training is very different from playing: “A match puts you in situations where you have to make decisions very quickly; it’s different from training.” Now, with more regular playing time, Kemelli sees her dream of playing for the Canarinha and being at a World Cup taking shape.

Having teammates with well-established careers on the senior national team has been a daily learning experience. “It’s my first time having contact with Lorena, but from the very first moment she welcomed me and has been helping me a lot in training,” she said.

As for Lelê, with whom she played at Corinthians, the lessons go back a long way. “Lelê has been helping me improve for many years, you know? She has always been an example for our generation, both with her footwork and her winning mentality, because it seems like nothing shakes her during a match,” she praised.

Second training session of the Women’s National Team for friendlies against the USACredits: Lívia Villas Boas/Staff Images/CBF

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