Luiz Felipe Scolari has announced the Selecao so join Gerry Johnston as he looks at the men selected to carry the weight of the hopes of the host nation.
GOALKEEPERS
Julio Cesar (34 years old) Toronto FC
78 caps
He hasn't played a lot of football recently after being frozen out at Queens Park Rangers but he is still Scolari's first choice goalkeeper. A move to Toronto FC in the MLS has meant regular football from March and only an injury would see anyone else take his starting role.
Jefferson (31 years old) Botafogo
9 caps
Jefferson spent four years in Turkey before returning home to Brazil and it has been his performances for Botafogo that have seen him become the clear second choice to Julio Cesar in the Selecao.
Victor (31 years old) Atletico Mineiro
6 caps
Victor is unlikely to see much action in the World Cup as third choice goalkeeper but his inclusion was one of the hot topics as it seemed to be a straight choice between him and Diego Cavalieri. Scolari decided on Victor and he will be the only member of the Selecao not to have played club football in Europe.
DEFENDERS
Dani Alves (31 years old) Barcelona
73 caps / 5 goals
The Barcelona man will be the starting right back and is every inch the traditional Brazilian full back. He has pace to burn and will provide as much support to the attack as he will to his fellow defenders. He played every minute of last summers successful Confederations Cup campaign.
Maicon (32 years old) Roma
70 caps / 7 goals
Maicon will provide cover for Dani Alves after earning a squad place ahead of Bayern Munich's Rafinha. Maicon has returned to form at Roma after a disappointing year in England with Manchester City.
Marcelo (25 years old) Real Madrid
29 caps / 4 goals
Marcelo will start on the left side of the back four and will provide similar attacking threat to Dani Alves on the opposite flank. He has formed a good partnership with Neymar and teams will have to be wary of the man who has 6 assists for Real Madrid in La Liga from left back.
Maxwell (32 years old) Paris Saint-Germain
7 caps
Some people believed Scolari might not bring a second left back and if Marcelo got injured or suspended he would play Dani Alves there with Maicon at right back. In the end he decided he needed the cover and Maxwell got the place ahead of Atletico Madrid's Felipe Luis.
Thiago Silva (29 years old) Paris Saint-Germain
45 caps / 2 goals
Thiago Silva captained Brazil to victory on home soil last summer and fans of the Selecao will be hoping he can repeat the feat this summer. Many people consider Thiago Silva to be the best centre back in the world and if Brazil are to go the distance he will need to be at the top of his game.
David Luiz (27 years old) Chelsea
34 caps
Luiz has been playing in midfield for Chelsea but he has formed an excellent partnership in defence with Thiago Silva. Dante is arguably a better centre back but Silva and Luiz were solid last summer and they will be Scolari's preferred pairing.
Dante (30 years old) Bayern Munich
11 caps / 2 goals
Dante is a very good centre back and he has played a key role in Bayern Munich's success over the last two years. He will be the obvious first choice replacement if anything should happen to Luiz or Silva before or during the tournament and Brazil can consider themselves fortunate to have a replacement as good as Dante.
Henrique (27 years old) Napoli
4 caps
Perhaps the biggest question in the lead up to the squad announcement was who would be the fourth centre back. Scolari choose Henrique who played under him at Palmeiras ahead of Miranda and Dede. Henrique can play centre back or centre midfield and has even played right back for Napoli this season so it looks as though his versatility earned him his place.
MIDFIELDERS
Luiz Gustavo (26 years old) Wolfsburg
17 caps / 1 goal
Luiz Gustavo played a huge role last summer as the holding midfielder and looks likely to start there again this summer. His hard work and support for the defence allowed Paulinho to push further forward. Gustavo is a fiesty character and has been sent off three times in the Bundesliga this season including two red cards in two games back in August/September.
Paulinho (25 years old) Tottenham
25 caps / 5 goals
Paulinho should start alongside Luiz Gustavo in centre midfield. He will get forward more than the Wolfsburg man and has an eye for goal. He had a good Confederations Cup last year and scored the winner against Uruguay in the semi-final. Any winning goal is special but Brazilians are still haunted by the loss to Uruguay in the Maracana that handed the 1950 World Cup to Uruguay so a winning goal against Uruguay will always carry extra weight.
Oscar (22 years old) Chelsea
29 caps / 9 goals
Oscar seems to have fallen foul of Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho and has saw his time on the field limited recently but he is a key player for Brazil. He will be played as an attacking midfielder and he has averaged just under a goal every three games for his country which is an impressive return.
Fernandinho (29 years old) Manchester CIty
6 caps / 1 goal
Fernandinho has had an excellent first season at Manchester City playing as the defensive midfielder and giving Yaya Toure the license to roam forward and rediscover his form of two years ago. Fernandinho is an able deputy and could put either Luiz Gustavo or Paulinho under pressure for a starting place.
Ramires (27 years old) Chelsea
41 caps / 4 goals
Ramires may not be first choice but he is a very useful player to have as he can play centre midfield, attacking midfield or right wing. He is quick and will work hard for the team. He will undoubtedly see some action this summer due to the number of positions he can deputise in.
Willian (25 years old) Chelsea
5 caps / 1 goal
Willian is first choice for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea but he is likely to be behind his club team mate Oscar in Scolari's plans. Willian can play in any of the attacking midfield roles though and may see some time playing on the right wing if Scolari subs Hulk like he did in every game in last summers Confederation Cup.
Hernanes (28 years old) Inter Milan
23 caps / 2 goals
Hernanes was one of the players whose presence in the Selecao was under threat but he squeezed in ahead of Robinho who many fans felt was going to be Scolari's "twenty-third man". Scolari trusts Hernanes and he played a part in all of Brazil's games last summer coming on as a sub four times and starting once.
FORWARDS
Neymar (22 years old) Barcelona
47 caps / 30 goals
Neymar is one of the youngest in the squad but he definitely isn't here just for the experience. He is the star man and much of Brazil's hopes rest on his young shoulders. He coped well with the pressures in the Confederations Cup winning the Golden Ball for player of the tournament and if Brazil are victorious this summer you can be sure he will have played his part in it.
Fred (30 years old) Fluminense
31 caps / 16 goals
Fred isn't as individually talented as previous Brazilian centre forwards like Ronaldo and Romario but he is a very important player for this team. He is averaging a goal every two games for the Selecao and scored five last summer only missing out on the golden boot to Fernando Torres as he played more minutes than the Chelsea man.
Hulk (27 years old) Zenit St Petersburg
33 caps / 8 goals
Hulk will start on the right wing and he has been in excellent form for his club this year scoring sixteen times. He has a tremendous left foot and will attempt to cut inside before firing off powerful efforts on goal. At times he can be wasteful but when it comes off it's spectacular.
Jo (27 years old) Atletico Mineiro
15 caps / 5 goals
Many will remember Jo as the man Manchester City paid £19m to CSKA Moscow for. That turned out to be a disaster but his form has improved since signing for Atletico Mineiro and he scored two goals after coming on for Fred against Japan and Mexico in the group stage. He will feature in the same role this summer to keep Fred as fresh as possible as the tournament progresses.
Bernard (21 years old) Shakhtar Donetsk
10 caps / 1 goal
Bernard is the baby of the squad but he is a player that Scolari likes and he already has ten caps to his name. He won't be first choice but if Scolari believes pace is required Bernard will come into his thinking.