Brazilian Federation confirms Iran friendly

PFDC – ABU DHABI, The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) confirmed the friendly match against Iran, Brazilian paper “Globo” reports on Monday.

The match, which will be the first encounter ever between the two sides, will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 7.

According to Iranian news agency ISNA, all expenses will be overtaken by a sponsor, who, however, in return will earn all revenues from the match. Also the broadcasting rights are held by the so far unnamed sponsor, which might be bad news for the large Iranian community abroad, as a broadcast over Iranian satellite TV is unlikely under these circumstances.

Brazil boss Mano Menezes already named a 23-men-squad for the two FIFA matchdates, which also includes a test match against a so far unknown European opponent four days later. “Globo” named the Ukraine as possible candidate for the second game, which will be held in London.

The roster includes 16 legionnaires, among them star players such as Dani Alves, Robinho or Alexandre Pato, but misses superstars Kaka, Maicon and Lucio.

The game against Iran will be Menezes’ second game as headcoach, after the 2-0 win over the USA in August.

Below comes Brazil’s squad.

Goalkeepers:

Victor – Grêmio
Jefferson – Botafogo
Neto – Atlético Paranaense

Defenders:

Daniel Alves – Barcelona
Mariano – Fluminense
Thiago Silva – Milan
Alex Costa – Chelsea
David Luiz – Benfica
Rever – Atlético Mineiro
André Santos – Fenerbahçe
Adriano – Barcelona

Midfielders:

Lucas – Liverpool
Sandro – Tottenham Hotspur
Ramires – Chelsea
Elias – Corinthians
Wesley – Werder Bremen
Carlos Eduardo – Rubin Kazan
Giuliano – Internacional
Philippe Coutinho – Internazionale

Strikers:

Robinho – Milan
Alexandre Pato – Milan
Nilmar – Villareal 
André – Dínamo Kiev