Menezes Selects Uncapped 11 In First Squad

Monday, 2nd August 2010 at 10:36am

New Brazilian national football coach Mano Menezes has picked 11 uncapped players in his first squad which will take on the USA in New Jersey later this month.

The aim for the former Corinthians and Gremio coach is to mould together a squad of players capable of winning the 2011 Copa America, gold at the London Olympics in 2012 and the 2014 Fifa World Cup which is being held on Brazilian soil for the first time in 64 years.

In addition to the 11 uncapped players, Menezes has picked just four of the players who travelled to South Africa for the finals in June which saw the five-times winners eliminated at the quarter final stage, suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands.

Of the 23 players picked by previous coach Dunga, only Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Ramires and Robinho will travel to the US.

"We're not ruling anyone out but in football, like life, nothing stays the same," explained the former Corinthians coach.

"Other players have to be prepared to come in and take their place," he added.

The latest Brazil squad has an average age of just 23.1 years compared to the 28.1-year-old average of the squad that travelled to Africa.

Seven of the 11 players called up by Menezes will still be young enough to represent Brazil in London in two years and the prospect of winning Olympic gold is in the 48-year-old's thoughts even if his priorities lie elsewhere.

"I have three main objectives to work on: the 2011 Copa America, the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, which is obviously the big one as far as we're concerned," said Menezes.

"London 2012 is a very important target for us too though."

Have Your Say About This Post