Liverpool's defender Fábio Aurélio was handed the chance of winning a place in Brazil's World Cup squad yesterday when he was named for next month's friendlies against England in Doha and Oman in Muscat.
The coach, Carlos Dunga, has named a 24-man squad made up of Europe-based players in order not to disrupt Brazilian clubs in the run-in to their championship. He also included Liverpool's much maligned midfielder Lucas.
Aurélio, 30, has no senior caps but played for Brazil at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 before a move to Valencia. "He's a player who knows how to mark; he's accustomed to European football. We spoke to him some time back about a call-up but he was injured and we couldn't pick him. Now we're going to give him that chance," Dunga said.
The strikers Carlos Eduardo, who plays for the German side Hoffenheim, and Porto's Hulk, as well as the full-back Michel Bastos of Lyon have been called up for the first time. "It's an option of ours to bring in players with other characteristics to see how they're going to fit in to the national team," Dunga said.
Manchester City's Robinho, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury during Brazil's 3‑1 win over Argentina on 5 September, was included despite having only just returned to fitness. "He has recovered, we've spoken to him. We're going to take him to [the friendlies] to give him the chance to accelerate his return to the pitch," said Dunga.
Brazil and England, who have both qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, meet on 14 November before Dunga's men take on Oman in Muscat three days later.
For England the Brazil match will be a good test of their World Cup credentials, after they completed qualification for the finals by winning nine of their 10 group games. The Brazilians have had a successful year, winning the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they defeated the United States 3‑2 in the Johannesburg final after being two goals down, and South America's World Cup qualifying group.
The coach, Carlos Dunga, has named a 24-man squad made up of Europe-based players in order not to disrupt Brazilian clubs in the run-in to their championship. He also included Liverpool's much maligned midfielder Lucas.
Aurélio, 30, has no senior caps but played for Brazil at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 before a move to Valencia. "He's a player who knows how to mark; he's accustomed to European football. We spoke to him some time back about a call-up but he was injured and we couldn't pick him. Now we're going to give him that chance," Dunga said.
The strikers Carlos Eduardo, who plays for the German side Hoffenheim, and Porto's Hulk, as well as the full-back Michel Bastos of Lyon have been called up for the first time. "It's an option of ours to bring in players with other characteristics to see how they're going to fit in to the national team," Dunga said.
Manchester City's Robinho, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury during Brazil's 3‑1 win over Argentina on 5 September, was included despite having only just returned to fitness. "He has recovered, we've spoken to him. We're going to take him to [the friendlies] to give him the chance to accelerate his return to the pitch," said Dunga.
Brazil and England, who have both qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, meet on 14 November before Dunga's men take on Oman in Muscat three days later.
For England the Brazil match will be a good test of their World Cup credentials, after they completed qualification for the finals by winning nine of their 10 group games. The Brazilians have had a successful year, winning the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they defeated the United States 3‑2 in the Johannesburg final after being two goals down, and South America's World Cup qualifying group.
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