Dunga Announces Brazil Squad for Friendly Against Argentina, Japan

Created by Paul John Rivera Sep 18 2014, 10:33 AM EDT

Brazil coach Dunga Wednesday named his 22-man squad for their upcoming friendlies against Argentina and Japan as part of the Gillette Brasil Global Tour in October.

Dunga, who replaced former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari following a humbling performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, made two changes from the squad that he led to 1-0 victories against Colombia and Ecuador earlier this month.

Now in his second tour of duty as Brazil coach, Dunga named Dodo of Inter and Mario Fernandes of CSKA Moscow to the squad, replacing Marcelo and Maicon.

When asked about why he decided to tweak his squad despite performing well in their last two friendlies, Dunga said that he is still finding the right combination, but minimal changes will be made in the near future.

"We are at the start of our work so we need to build a base and a continuity," Dunga said via EuroSport. "We can't keep changing. You need to give security to the players who are called up so they feel at home."

Dunga also defended his decision to call up Fernandes, saying that the CSKA defender deserves a second chance. Fernandes previously refused to accept an international call-up three years ago, but Dunga reiterated that the 23-year-old has been performing and behaving well, as of late.

"We took everything into consideration, yes, but let's be clear: this is a young player and we cannot crucify him for an error," Dunga said of including Fernandes in the squad via Goal.com. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Right now he is playing well at CSKA and his behavior has been exemplary."

The 50-year-old coach is looking forward to facing Argentina, the runners-up in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, saying that he likes his chances in their upcoming match on Oct. 11 at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, China.

"It is a derby and anything can happen in a derby," Dunga said of facing Argentina. "They have been together a long time but we have good players and it will be an open game."

Brazil Squad for 2014 Gillette Brasil Global Tour

Midfielders