Naldo (c.) has not missed a minute of Bundesliga action for Schalke in 2017/18. - © © gettyimages / Alex Grimm
Naldo (c.) has not missed a minute of Bundesliga action for Schalke in 2017/18. - © © gettyimages / Alex Grimm

Schalke defender Naldo on Brazil coach Tite's FIFA 2018 World Cup radar

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Brazil coach Tite says Naldo's red-hot form for Schalke could be rewarded with a place in his FIFA 2018 World Cup squad.

Naldo, 35, received the last of his four senior international caps to date over 10 years ago in an August 2007 friendly with Algeria, but has been one of the Royal Blues' most consistent performers so far this season and ranks as the current Bundesliga campaign's highest-scoring defender with five goals in 20 appearances.

"Naldo is one of those players we're got our eye on," Tite said of the veteran centre-back, who usurped Ze Roberto as the Bundesliga's leading Brazilian appearance-maker (337) in Schalke's 2-0 win at Stuttgart on Matchday 20. "The centre-back positions aren't all taken. Everyone playing at a high level has a shot."

Watch: Naldo on his milestone outing against Stuttgart

Tite will next have the opportunity to run the rule over the players at his disposal in the March friendly with world champions Germany. Whether Naldo, who has competition in the Brazil side from Paris-Saint Germain's Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, as well as Inter Milan's Miranda, makes the squad will provide a telling indicator of the former Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg man's World Cup chances.

Click here for more Schalke news, views and features!