Neymar staying in Brazil for qualifiers

Posted Tuesday, August 23, 2016 by foxsportsasia.com

Barcelona are letting Neymar stay in Brazil for the country's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches after he was was named in the squad to face Ecuador.

The Olympic gold-medalist will only return to Spain after the two-week international break in in September, and will join up with his Barca teammates ahead of the La Liga champions' clash with Leganes.

Luis Enrique's decision to permit the player a weekend of rest ahead of the internationals means that Barcelona will be without one of their star forwards for their 28 August trip to San Mames Barria where they will take on Athletic Bilbao.

Neymar was one of the Brazil Olympic team's top performers, along with Gabriel Barbosa and Gabriel Jesus, who have both also been given the senior squad nod for the upcoming matches.

Jesus, who appears to be on the verge of joining fellow Brazilian Fernandinho at Manchester City, is likely to make his international debut.

Brazil squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Marcelo Grohe (Gremio), Weverton (Atletico Paranaense)

Defenders: Gil (Shandong Luneng), Marquinhos (PSG), Miranda (Inter) Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo), Dani Alves (Juventus), Fagner (Corinthians), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Marcelo (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Giuliano (Zenit), Lucas Lima (Santos), Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Rafael Carioca (Atletico Mineiro), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Willian (Chelsea)

Forwards: Gabriel Barbosa (Santos), Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras), Neymar (Barcelona), Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk).