Joelinton struggles on return to Brazil national squad - Brazilian media were not kind

After bossing the midfield for Newcastle United at Wembley on Sunday, Joelinton will have been in good spirits linking back up with the Brazil national side after a lengthy absence from the squad.

Joelinton was called up alongside Bruno Guimaraes for the first time since November 2023 and his performance on Sunday showed exactly why Dorival Junior has decided to reinstate the bruising midfielder.

Brazil took on Colombia in a World Cup Qualifier last night, coming away with a 2-1 win and placing themselves on the brink of qualification.

But it could have been a much different story following a Joelinton error in the first half.

A Joelinton error led to Colombia's equaliser

Joelinton started on the bench but only had to wait 28 minutes before making his return, replacing Gerson. It took 13 minutes for Joelinton to have an effect on the game, but unfortunately for him, it wasn't a positive one.

The Newcastle midfielder gave away possession, and that led to Luis Diaz cancelling out Raphinha's ninth-minute penalty. Fortunately for Joelinton, Vinicius Junior scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time at the end of the game to seal the win for Brazil.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Joelinton also found himself in the referee's book.

Joelinton was handed ratings of 4/10 by Brazilian media

His exploits didn't sit well with the Brazilian media, with Globo Esporte handing the Geordie favourite a rating of 4/10.

“He came on poorly. In addition to losing the ball at the edge of the area during the Colombian goal, he gave space to his back and arrived late in some disputes. He received a fair yellow card. In the 39th minute of the second half, he caused danger with a shot from the edge of the area.”

Goal were no kinder with their rating giving him the same score, but they did note that he improved as the game went on.

“Came into the match early due to a Gerson injury and immediately committed an error, leading to Colombia’s opening goal. He recovered well in the second half, but that mistake loomed large until Vini’s winner.”

Chin up, Joey! There's always the next one.