Copa America 2019: The Brazil XI that won’t feature in the competition

Left winger: Neymar (PSG)

Neymar cruelly robbed off another chance to shine for his team

Neymar’s relationship with Copa America is now like the ships that pass in the night. He briefly featured in the 2015 edition’s group game but was immediately banned after a brawl following the loss to Colombia; he then snubbed the Centenario Cup in favour of the 2016 Olympics on home ground and is now sidelined for the 2019 Copa America too.

The PSG star sustained an injury to his ligament in the 2-0 friendly win over Qatar, ruling him out for four weeks - the same injury which kept him out of action for two months earlier in the season. So the Canaries are once again left to do it all without the services of their talisman.

Right winger: Douglas Costa (Juventus)

Costa's fitness concerns hit an all-time nadir in 2018/19 season

The fleet-footed Brazilian’s health record has been terrible since he joined Bayern Munich in 2015. Get this: as many as 13 bouts of injuries in the last four years alone! And much to his dismay, he succumbed to four of them in the season gone by, which he missed for a majority of it due to the same.

Even while he was on the field, Costa was visibly lacking in fitness and that hindered him from hitting the throttle. However, a summer’s break could be an opportunity in disguise for him to rest and regain full fitness ahead of the new season.