Rayan impresses again as Norway knock out Brazil

Rayan's fine form at the World Cup under Carlo Ancelotti's management was rewarded as he started his third game in a row, as the 19 year old showed many encouraging signs yet again for Brazil. 

Rayan looked very sharp on the eye, and the statistics back that up. Rocha created the most chances of any player on the pitch with three, and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles (2/2). 

Rayan was replaced by Neymar midway through the second half, and the 34 year old certainly had a different cameo to the one of the AFC Bournemouth winger. Despite scoring a consolation penalty, Neymar only completed 33% of his attempted dribbles, as well as winning 17% of his ground duels. 

Although this tournament will go down as a failure for Brazil, it was far from that for the teenage sensation Rayan, who had big boots to fill following Raphinha's injury. There would have been even more added pressure for Rayan, seeing as some of the best players in Brazilian history have played on that right wing (Garrincha, Jairzinho etc)

Rayan averaged the second highest FotMob match rating from all of the Brazil squad (7.6), and was subject to immense levels of praise from Brazilian fans all across social media for how well he adapted to becoming a starter for his country. 

It is safe to say that if Rayan continues this fine form going into a potentially historic 26/27 season for AFCB, he will be well worth the rumoured $130M release clause that clubs will be looking to trigger as soon as possible. 

On another note, former AFCB goalkeeper Orjan Nyland seemed to have set the tone for the game, denying a stuttered Bruno Guimaraes penalty in the first half. 

Although Rayan will be disappointed with the result tonight, it now gives him more time to rest and recover, which is something that cannot be neglected as a professional footballer, especially when you are in the early stages of your career. 

Another positive to Rayan's performance this evening, is that he maintained his consistent level of performance that he was showing under Andoni Iraola, despite being involved in a team that for their level, underperformed expectations by a long way. It is rare to see somebody that is still in their teenage years do that, and proves that Rayan could be the player to bail out AFC Bournemouth in games they may under perform in next season. 

There will be plenty more opportunities for Rayan in the upcoming years, and AFCB fans will be looking forward to be watching what he can do in his first full season in red and black colours next season!