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EXPERT VIEW: MATHEUS CUNHA BETTER THAN CHELSEA'S £60M STRIKER

Brazil legend Roberto Carlos picks Man Utd's Matheus Cunha over Chelsea's Joao Pedro to be Brazil's main striker for the 2026 World Cup.

Expert View: Matheus Cunha Better Than Chelsea's £60M Striker
Cunha Leads Brazil Over Joao Pedro

Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos believes Matheus Cunha has what it takes to lead Brazil in the 2026 World Cup.

Manchester United really felt Matheus Cunha's absence in their recent 1-0 loss to Everton at Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim took responsibility for the performance, saying United lacked bite and inspiration up front, even when playing against 10 men for most of the game.

Ruben Amorim said about Matheus Cunha:

Cunha is different. He brings something special that's hard to find. He's skilled with the ball, but he also has a presence that can get into opponents' heads, which is really important.

Because Cunha was out, Amad Diallo started in the No. 10 role on the left for United, but the experiment lasted only 45 minutes before Amorim subbed him out for Mason Mount.

The good news is that Cunha's injury isn't serious, and he's expected to play a big part for both United and Brazil when he returns.

During the November international break, Cunha was in great shape for Brazil as a central striker, a position he's occasionally played for United. With Benjamin Sesko injured, he might lead the line for the Red Devils when he's back.

Roberto Carlos, who has won the World Cup and Champions League three times, knows talent when he sees it. He's backing Cunha to be Brazil's main striker over Chelsea's Joao Pedro.

When asked on The Obi-Wan Podcast who should start up front for Brazil, Carlos said, "I like Matheus Cunha." Joao Pedro is still young. Playing in Europe is good for Pedro's growth, but I think Matheus Cunha is the better player right now.

Discussing Brazil’s World Cup chances, Carlos added, “I think with Neymar playing well, Vinicius playing well.”

Rodrygo, Matheus Cunha, Richarlison, Joao Pedro, and Estevao—Brazil has a lot of players. They just need to figure out how to play without the ball.

They are talented with the ball, but they have to improve their play when they don't have it. I think Brazil is slowly getting better and can make it to the World Cup and maybe even the final, since R9 retired.

United were also interested in Joao Pedro when they signed Matheus Cunha.

Just a day after Cunha's £62.5 million transfer was announced, United showed interest in Joao Pedro as a striker option.

Chelsea ended up signing Pedro for £60 million.

Since joining Chelsea, Pedro has scored four goals in the Premier League this season. However, Cunha has been starting ahead of Pedro for Brazil, and Carlos wants that to continue at the 2026 World Cup.

EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES

Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.

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Was the halftime substitution a tactical error or an injury?

Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’

United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.

Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.

“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.

“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.

But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.

Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.

“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.

“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?

"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."

However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.

Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”

‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”

SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW

Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.

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Martinez slams United’s tactical mistakes

Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.

United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.

Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.

It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.

When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.

We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.

We want to be at the top, competing with the best.

We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.

Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.

When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.

Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'

We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.

United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.

They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.

Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.

I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.

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