Neymar leads the way as Tite names Brazil’s squad for challenge in Russia
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil coach Tite has named his squad for next month’s World Cup finals in full confidence that superstar striker Neymar will be there as captain and attacking inspiration.
Neymar injured an ankle six weeks ago his French club, new champions Paris Saint-Germain, said he was back in training over the weekend when he also collected the country’s players’ player of the year award.
Brazil’s one notable absentee through a knee injury is veteran rightback Dani Alves.
Squad:
Alisson, Éderson, Cássio – Danilo, Fágner, Marcelo, Filipe Luís, Miranda, Geromel, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva – Casemiro, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Fred, Renato Augusto, Philippe Coutinho, Willian – Neymar, Douglas Costa, Gabriel Jesus, Firmino, Taison.
Socceroos’ choice
Australia coach Bert van Marwijk has named a 26-man squad to head to Turkey for a pre-FIFA World Cup training camp.
With all-time leading goalscorer Tim Cahill included in the extended squad, there is also room for Hyundai A-League hotshot Daniel Arzani and Lokomotiva Zagreb right back Fran Karacic.
Arzani and Karacic are the only two new faces to make the cut after Van Marwijk reduced the squad from 32 players. Excluded are Jamie Maclaren, Apostolos Giannou, Alex Gersbach and Mitchell Langerak.
Bailey Wright and Aleksandar Susnjar, who were in Van Marwijk’s squad for the March friendlies against Norway and Colombia, have also been left at home.
Squad:
| Name | Club, Country | A-International Caps (Goals) |
| Daniel ARZANI | Melbourne City FC, AUSTRALIA | 0 (0) |
| Aziz BEHICH | Bursaspor, TURKEY | 21 (2) |
| Joshua BRILLANTE | Sydney FC, AUSTRALIA | 5 (0) |
| Tim CAHILL | Millwall FC, ENGLAND | 105 (50) |
| Milos DEGENEK | Yokohama F. Marinos, JAPAN | 17 (0) |
| Jackson IRVINE | Hull City AFC, ENGLAND | 17 (2) |
| Mile JEDINAK | Aston Villa FC, ENGLAND | 75 (18) |
| Brad JONES (Gk) | Feyenoord Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS | 5 (0) |
| Tomi JURIC | FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND | 34 (8) |
| Matthew JURMAN | Suwon Samsung Bluewings, KOREA REPUBLIC | 4 (0) |
| Fran KARACIC | NK Lokomotiva, CROATIA | 0 (0) |
| Robbie KRUSE | VfL Bochum, GERMANY | 62 (5) |
| Mathew LECKIE | Hertha BSC, GERMANY | 51 (6) |
| Massimo LUONGO | Queens Park Rangers FC, ENGLAND | 34 (5) |
| James MEREDITH | Millwall FC, ENGLAND | 2 (0) |
| Mark MILLIGAN | Al Ahli SC, SAUDI ARABIA | 66 (6) |
| Aaron MOOY | Huddersfield Town AFC, ENGLAND | 32 (5) |
| Andrew NABBOUT | Urawa Red Diamonds, JAPAN | 2 (0) |
| Dimitri PETRATOS | Newcastle Jets, AUSTRALIA | 1 (0) |
| Josh RISDON | Western Sydney Wanderers FC, AUSTRALIA | 6 (0) |
| Tom ROGIC | Celtic FC, SCOTLAND | 35 (7) |
| Nikita RUKAVYTSYA | Maccabi Haifa FC, ISRAEL | 18 (1) |
| Mathew RYAN (Gk) | Brighton & Hove Albion FC, ENGLAND | 42 (0) |
| Trent SAINSBURY | Grasshopper Club Zurich, SWITZERLAND | 33 (3) |
| James TROISI | Melbourne Victory, AUSTRALIA | 37 (5) |
| Daniel VUKOVIC (Gk) | KRC Genk, BELGIUM | 1 (0) |
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