Dani Alves' shock Brazil call-up explained as Tite says 39-year-old will be World Cup 'articulator'

• Alves is a shock inclusion in Brazil's squad
• Tite praises his technical quality
• The defender is recovering from a knee injury

WHAT HAPPENED? Not many expected Alves to defy the odds and make the cut for Brazil after leaving Barcelona in the summer and joining UNAM in Mexico's Liga MX. He has also been struggling with a knee injury, but Tite has showered praise on the veteran right back while highlighting the full package he will bring the Selecao in Qatar.

WHAT THEY SAID: ''He adds technical and tactical aspects that are impressive, to be an organiser, an articulator. Sure he is not a 60 to 70 metres player anymore, but he has other virtues. The criteria awards his technical quality, but mental and physical aspects too," the Brazil boss said after announcing his final 26-man squad.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Alves is currently undergoing rehabilitation to overcome a knee injury that has prevented him from playing for UNAM for over a month. However, Brazil's team doctor Fabio Mahseredjian is confident that he will regain match fitness before taking the flight to Qatar. "We have been following his recovery up close and all the data that we have from Barcelona doctors show that he is fit to play,” he stated.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

DID YOU KNOW? Alves has 124 international caps to his name and he appeared in every minute of Brazil's Tokyo Olympics campaign in 2021, where the Selecao U23s bagged gold.

WHAT NEXT FOR ALVES? The defender will hope to be in perfect shape before he joins the Brazil national team's pre-World Cup camp in Turin on November 14. They will fly to Doha from Italy five days later.