<p>SAO PAULO — Veteran defenders Dani Alves and Thiago Silva were brought back into the Brazil squad on Friday for next month’s World Cup qualifying matches against Ecuador and Paraguay.</p>
<p>Brazil coach Tite said the 38-year-old Alves and the 36-year-old Silva were called up because they are “athletes who happen to play soccer.”</p>
<p>Alves, a former Barcelona right back, is one of the key players for Sao Paulo, while Silva has reached the Champions League final with Chelsea.</p>
<p>Brazil leads the South American qualifying group with four wins from four matches, two points ahead of Argentina.</p>
<p>The 10 South American teams had been scheduled to play matches in March, but they were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Tite said the squad announced for the matches in Porto Alegre on June 4 and in Asuncion four days later is not necessarily for the Copa America, which kicks off on June 13.</p>
<p>Brazil last played in November, when it beat Uruguay 2-0. Tite said the six months of inactivity has hurt the team.</p>
<p>“This halt affected all South American teams. It is a reality we wouldn’t like to live,” Tite said. “But we will have to be able to move other instruments to keep our competitiveness high up.”</p>
<hr />
<p>Squad:</p>
<p>Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Weverton (Palmeiras)</p>
<p>Defenders: Dani Alves (São Paulo), Danilo, Alex Sandro (Juventus), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Éder Militão (Real Madrid), Lucas Veríssimo (Benfica), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Thiago Silva (Chelsea)</p>
<p>Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Lucas Paquetá (Lyon)</p>
<p>Forwards: Everton (Benfica), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Richarlison (Everton), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)</p>
<hr />
<p>More AP soccer: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/soccer">https://apnews.com/hub/soccer</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
