"I will never forget this day": Alisson Santana comments on his Brazil debut after defeat to Japan

Shakhtar Donetsk winger Alisson Santana has reacted to his first match for the Brazilian national team. Despite the friendly match against Japan ending in a defeat for the Brazilians, the footballer called the day truly unforgettable and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to take the field wearing the jersey of the five-time world champions. This was reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the player's Instagram post.

Friendly match in Singapore: 3:2 in favor of Japan

On November 14, the Brazilian national team played a friendly match against the Japan national team in Singapore. The meeting ended in a 3:2 victory for the Japanese players. For Alisson Santana, this match marked his debut for the national team: he started the game on the bench and came on in the 58th minute, replacing Estevao. Thus, his very first match in the national team shirt ended unsuccessfully for the Brazilian, but the mere fact of appearing on the pitch became the main event of the evening for the player.

"I will never forget this day"

After the match, the Brazilian published an emotional message on his Instagram, admitting that the team had expected to win and, in his opinion, deserved it. At the same time, for him personally, the debut was the realization of a big dream. "I will never forget this day! We wanted to win and deserved to win, but I can only thank God for this opportunity. He truly gives much more than we ask for. Now we are fully focused on the next challenge!" wrote Alisson Santana.

Second debutant from Shakhtar

Simultaneously with Alisson, another representative of Shakhtar Donetsk — Marlon Gomes, who came on as a substitute for Andre — also made his debut for the Brazilian national team. Thus, in a single friendly match, two players from the Donetsk club received their first call-ups to the national team. Unfortunately, the first match for both footballers ended in a team defeat with a score of 2:3, making their debuts memorable primarily for emotional reasons rather than the result.

Next step: match against Singapore

Carlo Ancelotti's team will play their next friendly match on November 17 against the Singapore national team. For Alisson Santana and Marlon Gomes, this could be a chance to cement their debut and possibly start the match from the first minutes. The Brazilian himself emphasized in his post-match address that he is now completely focused on the next challenge, indicating his readiness to continue fighting for a spot in the national team squad.