KEIR RADNEDGE in RIO DE JANEIRO: World football federation FIFA has refused to allow Brazil to delay naming their squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers until after the Olympic Games.
New senior coach Tite had pressed the Brazilian CBF to seek a special exemption so as not to disturb the Olympic squad – several of whom are in cntention for selection – in their preparations ahead of this week’s semi-final and medal playoffs.
Brazil’s Olympics men’s team face Honduras in Maracana on Wednesday afternoon and then will go on either to the final or the bronze medal playoff on Saturday.
Tite will make his official debut as senior national coach with the World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador on September 1 in Quito then Colombia on September 6 in Manaus. Squads have to be registered with FIFA at least a fortnight in advance which means the middle of this week at the latest.
Brazil are sixth in the 10-team South American qualifying table. The top four are guaranteed places in the finals in Russia in 2018 with the fifth-placed team entering the intercontinental playoffs.
FIFA officials are understood to have told the CBF that if they made one exception they would come under pressure from many other countries with their own reasons for wanting to juggle selection dates.
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