Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has announced his 23-man squad for the upcoming Confederations Cup and friendlies with England and France.
The warm up tournament for next year’s World Cup kicks off in Brasília on June 15, less than five weeks away.
In the meantime, Brazil will face England in another friendly on June 2 at the Maracanã and France at Grêmio Arena one week later.
The most notable exclusions from the squad are Atlético Mineiro star Ronaldinho, who was recently recalled by Scolari after a year’s absence, and Chelsea midfielder Ramires.
Real Madrid playmaker Kaká, Corinthians striker Alexandre Pato and Cruzeiro defender Dedé also missed out.
However, there were places for Mineiro’s young star Bernard, Grêmio midfielder Fernando and Bayern Munich’s Luiz Gustavo.
Tournament hosts Brazil have been drawn against Italy, Mexico and Japan in Group A, while Spain, Uruguay, Nigeria and Tahiti make up Group B.
Goalkeepers: Julio César (QPR), Jefferson (Botafogo) and Diego Cavalieri (Fluminense).
Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Jean (Fluminense), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atlético Madrid) Thiago Silva (PSG), Réver (Atlético-MG), David Luiz (Chelsea) and Dante (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Fernando (Grêmio), Hernanes (Lazio), Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich), Paulinho (Corinthians), Jadson (São Paulo), Oscar (Chelsea) and Lucas Moura (PSG).
Forwards: Hulk (Zenit), Bernard (Atlético-MG), Leandro Damião (Internacional), Fred (Fluminense) and Neymar (Santos).
