Marcos defends Hugo Souza after his debut with the national team: "It's difficult for a goalkeeper"

After his debut against the Brazilian national team ended in defeat, goalkeeper Hugo Souza received special support on social media. Former Palmeiras goalkeeper Marcos, a five-time champion in 2002, defended the Corinthians player.

Marcos stated that it's a different situation for a goalkeeper. The five-time world champion said that no matter how much experience you have at the club, when you join the national team, you feel the difference, and it's a new reality.

"I'm seeing people talking about Hugo Souza's debut with the Brazilian national team. I'll tell you: the national team is a boat, for goalkeepers it's difficult. No matter how much experience we have here, you can be of... your team, have 300 games in the Paulista, 500 in the Brazilian, but in the national team, we arrive there like dry ears. We don't have any experience to play with the guys out there," he highlighted.

For Marcos, Hugo didn't make a mistake in Japan's third goal. He believes the Japanese player headed the ball too close to the goalkeeper, making it difficult to save. Furthermore, the Palmeiras legend believes that if this had been a Corinthians match, Hugo Souza would have been more confident coming out to cut out the cross.

"And I don't even think the goal was Hugo's mistake. I think it was very close. It could have been a miracle in that save if he had managed to clear the ball. And maybe the decision not to leave was wrong, because he's big. I'm sure if he were at Corinthians, he would leave because he has much more confidence there. But for the national team, it's a debut," he said.

No judgments at the premiere

Finally, Marcos noted that he would use the same criteria with any other Brazilian goalkeeper. The five-time world champion emphasized that a player cannot be judged based on his debut and hopes Hugo Souza will have other opportunities with the national team.

"I would say that if it were Weverton, Brazão, Rafael, just like I'm talking about Hugo. I think you can only demonstrate your work through consistency. So, judging someone based on a debut is very unfair. At least that's what I would want done to me if I were to debut for the Brazilian national team today. So, life goes on, let's hope he gets other opportunities to showcase his work," he highlighted.

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