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Dunga makes 13 changes to Brazil

Neymar will return to the Brazil squad for a pair of September friendlies in the United States, though new coach Dunga left out 13 players from the World Cup squad while bringing in a new bunch that includes Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho.

Full-backs Marcelo and Dani Alves were among the biggest names not called up for the matches against Colombia on Sept. 5 in Miami and Ecuador on Sept. 9 in New Jersey.

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Dunga's named his first squad since replacing  Luiz Felipe Scolari after Brazil's disappointing finish to the finals, a humiliating 7-1 semifinal defeat to Germany and a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the third-place match.

The match against Colombia is likely to pit Neymar against Colombia defender Juan Camillo Zuniga, who fractured the Brazilian star's back in the World Cup quarterfinals, ending his tournament.

Oscar and David Luiz survived the cull, while newcomers include Coutinho, Atletico Madrid's Miranda and the Brazilian league's leading scorer Ricardo Goulart.

Most of the players returning were starters at the World Cup, including Hulk, Luiz Gustavo, Fernandinho and Maicon. Captain Thiago Silva was not called up because he is injured.

"History shows that you can't start from scratch, it's important to keep some of the previous structure in place," Dunga said. "Slowly we will be giving opportunities to the younger players. It's not because of one bad result that everything was wrong."

Dunga said other World Cup players may be back in the future.

"It's important that all players know that this is just the beginning of our work," the coach said. "It doesn't mean that the players not in this list won't have another chance with the national team. The doors will remain open to all Brazilian players."

Striker Fred, who scored only one goal in the World Cup, has since announced his international retirement. Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho, who hadn't made it to the home tournament, remained off Dunga's list, as did Lucas Moura of Paris Saint-Germain.

Brazil are expected to play two other friendlies this year, against Argentina on Oct. 11 in Beijing and Turkey on Nov. 12 in Istanbul. The team's next tournament is the 2015 Copa America.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Rafael (Napoli)

Defenders: Maicon (AS Roma), Alex Sandro (Porto), Danilo (Porto), Filipe Luis (Chelsea), David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Gil (Corinthians), Mirando (Atletico Madrid).

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Elias (Corinthians), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Ramires (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Oscar (Chelsea), Ricardo Goulart (Cruzeiro).

Forwards: Everton Ribeiro (Cruzeiro), Hulk (Zenit), Neymar (Barcelona), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro).

 Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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