The Brazil national team head coach Dunga has submitted the 40-player preliminary roster for the 2016 Copa America Centenario happening in the United States. Tournament rules require the final 23 player roster to be turned in no later than May 20 to the Local Organizing Committee, in which them and the remaining 15 nations participating in the tournament will have to do by then.
Key names out
Dunga has chosen not to bring their two former captains Paris Saint Germain's Thiago Silva and Neymar, in which the his club, FC Barcelona, have confirmed that hat he will play for his nation in the Summer Olympics happening in Rio de Janeiro later in August and not in the tournament in June. Alongside them, key defenders such as Real Madrid's Marcelo and PSG's David Luiz have not been included into the Selecao.
Silva has been ignored for Brazil by Dunga since the 2015 Copa America in Chile where the team lost to Paraguay in penalties in the quarter-finals, in which Dunga has strongly criticized for being too emotionally unbalanced, ever since he was known to be the scapegoat for their elimination in Chile last summer. Nevertheless, the 40 names included by the 52-year old are still a talent side.
Preparation
On May 5, at 11am, Dunga will release the final list of 23 players at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. They are pitted in Group B alongside Ecuador, Haiti and Peru in which they will look to win their first Copa America since 2007.
In their final friendly before the start of tournament, they will take on Panama in Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on May 29. They take on Ecuador at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on June 4 in their first group match before traveling east to take on Haiti on June 7 in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl and will finish off their group matches against Peru in Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium on June 12.
Brazil Preliminary Copa America 2016 Squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Internacional), Diego Alves (Valencia), Ederson (Benfica), Marcelo Grohe (Gremio)
Defenders: Dani Alves (Barcelona), Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo), Fabinho (Monaco), Fagner (Corinthians), Gil (Shandong Luneng), Jemerson (Monaco), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Miranda (Inter), Gabriel Paulista (Arsenal), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Douglas Santos (Atletico Mineiro)
Midfielders: Rafinha Alcantara (Barcelona), Felipe Anderson (Lazio), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Costa (Bayern Munich), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Elias (Corinthians), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Sao Paulo), Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Kaka (Orlando City), Lucas Lima (Santos), Lucas Moura (Paris Saint-Germain), Oscar (Chelsea), Walace (Gremio), Willian (Chelsea)
Forwards: Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Gabriel (Santos), Hulk (Zenit), Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras), Jonas (Benfica), Luan (Gremio), Ricardo Oliveira (Santos), Alex Teixeira (Jiangsu Suning)