Casemiro moves towards becoming Brazil captain under Tite
Among the Brazil players and coaching staff the belief is that the Madrid midfielder wearing the captain's armband on a permanent basis is only a matter of time.
Since taking over the reins of Brazil's national side, Tite has always stressed that one of his biggest challenges is to find a leader in the dressing room, that player who speaks for the players, undertaking a number of roles and taking on the responsibilities of being a captain.
Different options
Tite has tried out a number of different options with the captain's armband, one of which was Neymar after the Russia World Cup in attempt to see if his star player would grow into the extra responsibility - and one which didn't work. Since the Copa América Dani Alves has taken over the captaincy, but given that the full-back is 36 it's hard to see him still being around for the Qatar World Cup.
Casemiro rises to the fore
In view of the above, therefore, Casemiro is starting to rise up above the rest as a long-term candidate. The Real Madrid midfielder is increasingly becoming a go-to man in the Brazil squad - Tite has called on him to lift Neymar's spirits and to ease the pressure on Vinicius Junior - and players and coaching staff alike believe it is only a matter of time before he wears the captain's armband on a permanent basis.