Why isn’t Casemiro playing for Brazil in the 2024 Copa América?

Brazil begin their 2024 Copa América campaign against Costa Rica at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Monday night and will be desperate to get off to a strong start to prove they can compete with Lionel Messi’s Argentina, among others, to win the tournament. Their case won’t be helped by Neymar’s absence due to injury, while former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, another experienced figure, won’t be playing in the United States either.

Why isn’t Neymar playing in the 2024 Copa América?

That head coach Dorival Júnior didn’t name Neymar on his 26-man roster for the tournament didn’t come as a surprise due to the former Barcelona attacker tearing his ACL while playing for his country in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay last October. Although the 32-year-old is nearing his return, he was never seriously in consideration.

Casemiro’s difficult season with Manchester United

Casemiro, on the other hand, played 32 games for Manchester United in the 2023/24 season and has been one of Brazil’s top players in recent years. However, he was frequently criticised for his performances for the Premier League giants last term and Dorival Júnior opted to leave the five-time Champions League winner off his roster for tactical reasons, which raised plenty of eyebrows.

“Casemiro deserves respect from all of us,” the Brazil coach said after naming his provisional squad for the tournament in May. “Three months ago, I told him what I expected of him. He knows very well what I think of him.

“I explained to him what I thought about his situation, the situation of his team, and what he needed. It doesn’t mean, because he is not coming now, that he is or will be ruled out later.”

Brazil’s inexperienced roster

The absences of Casemiro (75 caps) and Neymar (128 caps) have left Brazil with an unusually inexperienced squad for the tournament. 15 players in the squad go into 2024 Copa América with 10 caps or fewer, while only five members of the roster have played more than 30 games for their country.