RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil coach Tite has named nine forwards in his World Cup squad, underscoring his wealth of attacking options for the tournament in Qatar.
Neymar, 30, spearheads Brazil’s attack, while the 26-man squad announced by Tite on Monday also includes a group of young forwards, including Vinicius Jr., Gabriel Martinelli and Rodrigo.
Dani Alves, the 39-year-old former Barcelona right-back, has also been included in the list, which includes eight defenders and six midfielders.
Tite read out his selection at the Brazilian Football Confederation’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, whittling down his list from a group of 55 players he and his staff have been monitoring since 2018.
Brazil will play in Group G with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon at the World Cup. Serbia and Switzerland were also in Brazil’s group four years ago in Russia, when the Brazilians lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Tite, 61, has already announced he will step down after the tournament after six years in charge.
___
composition:
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Waverton (Palmeiras)
Defenders: Dani Alves (no club), Marquinhas (Paris Saint-Germain), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Danilo (Juventus), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Alex Telles (Sevilla), Bremer (Juventus ). ).
Midfielders: Casemiro (Manchester United), Fred (Manchester United), Fabinho (Liverpool), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo).
Forwards: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid), Richarlison (Tottenham), Rafinha (Barcelona), Antoni (Manchester United), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Pedro (Flamenga). Rodrigo (Real Madrid).
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
