Real Madrid's Marcelo and Vinicius Junior left out of Brazil's Copa America squad

Marcelo was a big-name omission from Tite's Brazil squad for the 2019 Copa America, with Alex Sandro and Filipe Luis preferred.

Published : May 18, 2019 01:28 IST

Real Madrid duo Marcelo and Vinicius Junior have been left out of Brazil's squad for the Copa America.

Tite revealed his 23-man group on Friday, with experienced Marcelo – one of Brazil's captains during the 2018 World Cup – the headline name to miss out.

The defender has had a difficult season with Madrid, falling out of favour under Santiago Solari and failing to recapture his best form after Zinedine Zidane's return to the club.

Brazil's left-back options for the tournament, which it hosts, will be Juventus' Alex Sandro and Atletico Madrid's Filipe Luis, with Porto full-back Alex Telles not included.

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Marcelo's Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior, who was given a first international call-up for Brazil's friendlies against Panama and the Czech Republic in March – only to drop out due to injury – has also not made the cut, with Ajax star David Neres preferred.

Neres joins fellow forwards Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Everton and Neymar, who was missing from Tite's last squad due to the ankle injury which saw him miss three months of the campaign.

Fernandinho, who has not made an international appearance since World Cup 2018, has earned a recall, while Dani Alves is also involved.

Brazil, which takes on Qatar and Honduras in pre-tournament friendlies, kicks off the Copa America against Bolivia on June 14, with Venezuela and Peru its other opponents in Group A.

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