Jurgen Klopp has breathed a sigh of relief as Phillipe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino were both left out of Brazil’s 2016 Olympics squad.
Barcelona’s Neymar and Bayern Munich’s Douglas Costa have been named as over-age players in the Rio squad, along with Palmeiras goalkeeper Fernando Prass.
The Olympic football tournament is scheduled to run from August 3 to August 20, meaning that the Reds duo would have missed the first two Premier League games of the season plus a sizeable chunk of the valuable pre-season period had they been selected.
Under-20s coach Rogerio Micale will manage the Brazil side after Dunga’s sacking following the Copa America.
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10