RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazil summoned Juventus winger Douglas Costa and left out Chelsea defender David Luiz for friendlies against Japan and England next month.
Brazil will play Japan on Nov. 10 in the French city of Lille, and four days later England in London. All of the teams are qualified for the World Cup.
The priority was to test midfielders and forwards like Costa and still keep the team’s identity, coach Tite said in a news conference on Friday.
“We called Costa at times in which he had physical problems, and that did not give him the chance to perform well,” Tite said. “In the latest games we watched, he is going back to his level.”
In place of Luiz, Tite said he was trying out Monaco’s Jemerson.
The coach also said he will rotate the captaincy, even during the World Cup.
“There is an idea behind this: We all have responsibilities,” Tite said. “In the 1958 World Cup final Sweden scored against Brazil and Didi went to the back of the net, talked to all the players. And he was not the captain, but he behaved like one. Every player has to behave as if he was the captain.”
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Brazil:
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Ederson (Manchester City), Cassio (Corinthians)
Defenders: Dani Alves (Paris Saint-Germain), Danilo (Manchester City), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Marquinhos, Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Miranda (Inter Milan), Jemerson (Monaco)
Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Paulinho (Barcelona), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Giuliano (Zenit St. Petersburg), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Willian (Chelsea), Diego (Flamengo) Douglas Costa (Juventus)
Forwards: Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Souza (Sport Recife), Taison (Shahktar Donetsk)
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