Brazil announce Copa America 2024 squad with no Neymar, Casemiro

Brazil announced their squad for the Copa America 2024 which is to be played in the United States and Mexico but prominent names like Neymar Junior, and Casemiro were left out.

Neymar tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) earlier this season with Saudi club Al-Hilal and was expected to be omitted from the squad. However, Casemiro’s exclusion was a surprise to many.

Casemiro isn’t having the best season with Manchester United as he missed a number of matches with injury and also couldn’t play up to the expectations whenever he played.

On the other hand, 17-year-old Endrick, who signed for Real Madrid, was called up after an impressive outing with the team during the latest international break where he scored against England at Wembley Stadium and Spain at Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid’s pair of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo made the final cut while Barcelona’s Raphinha was also included in the squad.

Other than Neymar and Casemiro, popular names like Antony, and Richarlison couldn’t make it to the squad.

Brazil’s boss Dorival Junior explained his reasons behind dropping Casemiro, who has played 75 matches for Brazil.

“He deserves all the respect from all of us,” Dorival said. “I had a conversation with him in Manchester about three months ago.

“I explained what I thought about his situation, his team’s situation, and what I needed. It doesn’t mean, because it’s not coming right now, that it is or will be ruled out, in any sense.”

Brazil squad:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City) Bento (Athletico Paranaense)

Defenders: Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Girona), Guilheme Arana (Atletico Mineiro), Wendell (Porto), Beraldo (Paris Saint-Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Joao Gomes (Wolverhampton), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham)

Forwards: Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Raphinha (Barcelona), Savinho (Girona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)