Shakhtar Donetsk have two first-time Brazil call-ups in Marlon Gomes and Alisson Santana, and both are arriving with European minutes behind them. Carlo Ancelotti handed them their first call-ups before the Champions League clash with Sporting CP, and the selection is backed by what they have done in the competition and this season.

Marlon's role in Europe

Marlon Gomes is 22 and a central midfielder. He has played 261 of a possible 270 Champions League minutes, which is about as close to ever-present as it gets in the league phase, and he has started the campaign with 3 Champions League appearances. His 6.53 rating in Europe is not eye-catching on its own, but it fits the profile of a player trusted to handle the workload.

Marlon also picked up one yellow card in each of Shakhtar's European games against PSV, AEK and Inter, so another booking against Sporting would rule him out of the next match against Fenerbahçe. That sort of detail matters because it shows he is not just on the fringe of the squad, he is already being used in the heavy minutes that tend to go to reliable players.

Alisson's output for club and country push

Alisson Santana is 21 and a right winger. His season numbers are stronger on the attacking side, with 6 goals and 5 assists in 13 games this season. He has also played 259 Champions League minutes and carries a 6.59 rating in the competition, a small edge over Marlon that matches the impression of a winger already contributing in the final third.

Shakhtar's broader Brazilian base helps explain why these names are now surfacing at international level. The Ukrainian club have 15 Brazilians in their squad, and that pipeline keeps feeding talent into top-level games rather than just into a reserve list.

The club's own European position underlines the standard they are working in. Shakhtar sit 17th in the Champions League league phase with 4 points from 3 matches, so these call-ups are coming from a squad still in the middle of a proper continental campaign. If Ancelotti wanted evidence that Marlon and Alisson are already handling serious football, he has it, and the Sporting game is the latest stage of that test.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →