Coutinho omitted from Brazil squad

Philippe Coutinho’s name has not been included in Brazil’s latest team sheet, but his Liverpool team mate Roberto Firmino’s has.

Coutinho, who has been in fine form for the Reds this past year, has been left out of Dunga’s Brazil side for their upcoming friendlies against Costa Rica on September 5 and the United States on September 8 after apparently not impressing his national team gaffer over the summer.

“We gave him a chance at the Copa America,” said Dunga, as per the Liverpool Echo. “You can’t just build with just youngsters, you need experience to help.”

The experience Dunga opted for is none other than 33-year-old Orlando City SC man, Kaka.

Kaka, who is 10 years Coutinho’s senior, is a fan of the young attacking midfielder and believes he could be the future of Liverpool.

“I have been a big admirer of Coutinho and he can be a very important player for Liverpool and Brazil,” said Kaka, as reported by the Mirror.

Roberto Firmino, Coutinho’s compatriot at Anfield, has been chosen for the Brazil side after making his Premier League debut for the Reds just days ago.

Dunga’s choice to leave Coutinho out of a Brazil side filled with so much young talent (see: Neymar, Oscar, Firmino, Douglas Costa, Lucas Moura, Willian, etc.) will come as a surprise not only to the man himself, but also to Kaka and millions of football fans around the world who saw the little Brazilian save his Liverpool side this past weekend with an 86th minute long-range strike against Stoke to lead the Reds to a 1-0 victory at the Britannia.

The news of Coutinho’s omission (and Firmino’s inclusion) was broken earlier today by the Brazil football team’s official Twitter account in a tweet containing a photo of the team sheet.