No surprises as Dunga confirms Brazil squad

Johannesburg: Brazil named its final squad for the World Cup on Tuesday, with coach Dunga retaining the 23 players already in South Africa preparing for the tournament.

Dunga had named an initial squad of 30 players only because it was a FIFA requirement, but did not make any surprise selections on deadline day.

The 23-man group selected by Dunga has been practicing in South Africa since last Thursday. The seven players on standby — Ronaldinho, Paulo Henrique Ganso, Sandro, Diego Tardelli, Alex, Carlos Eduardo and Marcelo — were all left out as expected.

Dunga has revamped the Brazil squad since taking over after the 2006 World Cup, leaving out big-name players like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Adriano.

Instead of stars, Dunga put his faith in some lesser-known players who proved their worth with successful results, including a tournament win at last year's Confederations Cup and a top-place finish in South American World Cup qualifying.

"Our goal was to get the players to really want to be with the national team," Dunga said after Brazil arrived at its training camp in South Africa. "A lot of players didn't want to be here, now it's the opposite."

Dunga, who was captain when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994 in the United States, also appears to have his starting lineup set, if recent training sessions are anything to go by.

The team plays a warmup match against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. The five-time world champion will also face Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Brazil opens its World Cup Group G campaign against North Korea on June 15, before playing the Ivory Coast and Portugal.

Only three players in the squad are currently playing in Brazilian football — Kleberson, Gilberto and Robinho, the forward who is on loan at Santos from Manchester City.

Brazil:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham), Doni (AS Roma).

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Michel Bastos (Lyon), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan).

Midfielders: Elano (Galatasaray), Kaka (Real Madrid), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Ramires (Benfica), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Kleberson (Flamengo), Julio Baptista (AS Roma).

Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Robinho (Santos), Grafite (Wolfsburg).