Kaka, Ronaldinho left out of Brazil squad

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari keeps to tried and tested players as he announces Brazil’s World Cup squad to the nation.

The team will be led by Barcelona striker Neymar, the player carrying most of the fans' hopes [Getty Images]

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari announces his World Cup squad without any major surprises, choosing most of the players who won last year’s Confederations Cup.

Scolari’s 23-name list includes 16 players who were in the team that won last year’s warm-up tournament by beating world champion Spain in the final.

The team will mix talented young stars such as Neymar and Oscar with more experienced players such as Dani Alves, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Hulk.

Past stars such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the squad as expected.

The squad announcement was a high-profile event in Brazil, with television stations juggling their programming to broadcast it live.

Kaka and Robinho – the stars in the 2010 World Cup – still had hopes of playing in the tournament at home but were left off the list, as were former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato and 34-year-old Ronaldinho, a 2002 world champion.

Only five players from this year’s list were in the 2010 tournament in Julio Cesar, Silva, Alves, Maicon and Ramires and Scolari will name seven alternates will be announced in the coming days.

Tried and tested

Brazil’s starting 11 in the World Cup will likely be the same that played in the Confederations Cup.

Brazil have won 13 of their last 14 matches, the only loss coming in a friendly against Switzerland after the warm-up tournament.

The team will be led by 22-year-old Barcelona striker Neymar, the player carrying most of the fans’ hopes.

The defence will have Silva alongside Luiz, with Alves on the right flank and Marcelo on the left.

Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo will protect the defence, and Oscar will feed the attack that also has Hulk and Fred.

Scolari has already said that the starting goalkeeper will be Cesar, who is playing for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.

This year, Brazil is in Group A with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon, with the opening game against Croatia on June 12 in Sao Paulo.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Toronto FC), Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Atletico Mineiro)

Defenders: David Luiz (Chelsea), Dante (Bayern Munich), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Henrique (Napoli), Maicon (Roma), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain)

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Paulinho (Tottenham), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Ramires (Chelsea), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Hernanes (Inter Milan)

Strikers: Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk), Neymar (Barcelona), Jo (Atletico Mineiro), Fred (Fluminense)

Source: AP