Dunga Has New Options to Ponder in Brazil Attack for Turkey and Austria Games

The experiment can continue. Following Dunga's announcement of his final Brazil squad for 2014, a wise decision to omit all home-based players from the list has meant a need for new faces.

Perhaps under previous managers, scouring Europe rather than the Campeonato Brasileiro for Selecao talent would not have been regarded as the norm; indeed, when Dunga took Brazil to the 2010 World Cup just two from the national championship were called up.

But these are different days. In the second half of Brazil's 4-0 rout of Japan earlier this month, there were no fewer than six Brasileirao-based players on the pitch—more than half the team.

Which means that this time around there will be some significant changes in personnel against Turkey and Austria.

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Jefferson, who has firmly established himself as the No. 1, is focused on helping Botafogo maintain their first-division status, paving the way for Neto, Rafael Cabral and Diego Alves to stake their claim for a goalkeeping jersey.

Thiago Silva, the side's former captain, is back in the squad for the first time since leading the country to fourth place at the World Cup. Further forward, Romulo and Casemiro, two exciting prospects for the future, may well be given the chance to form a promising partnership in the middle of the park.

But it is in attack where there is likely to be the most substantial change. Brazil have found a seductive rhythm with a front quartet of Willian, Oscar, Neymar and Diego Tardelli.

But in the squad for the November friendlies are a trio of players eager to show they possess the offensive swagger to step up at international level.

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Following the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup squad, Paris Saint-Germain's Lucas Moura is back on the international stage. Having already found the back of the net five times this term, including a brace in the 3-0 win over Bordeaux on Saturday, he is finding the form that he promised when breaking through the ranks at Sao Paulo.

Neymar will lead the team as the newly installed permanent captain, but who will lead the front line?

Up until now, the job has been done more than ably by the much maligned Diego Tardelli. Scorer of both goals against great rivals Argentina, his work rate and dogged determination were complemented by his astute, although sometimes inconsistent, finishing ability.

But while he aids Atletico Mineiro in their Copa do Brasil, Dunga has turned to the talents of Luiz Adriano and Roberto Firmino, of Shakhtar Donetsk and Hoffenheim respectively.

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The former catapulted himself into the history books a fortnight ago when he became the first player in Champions League history to score five goals in the first half of a match. His firm is red hot of late, with 10 goals in his last 14 outings.

He has netted well over 100 goals for the Ukrainian club and arguably deserved a chance before now, considering the sparsity of potential Selecao No. 9s in the run-up to the World Cup.

Firmino has also been making headlines. Scorer of 22 goals in 37 appearances last term, there have been frequent calls for him to given a chance with the national side.

This year has not been quite so prolific; Firmino has scored just once. But Dunga was nevertheless full of praise for the pair upon naming them in his squad, as reported by Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese).

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With two friendlies coming up, it would make sense to give each one a game, or perhaps 45 minutes apiece in both friendlies.

In much better goalscoring form, it may well be that Adriano gets the nod ahead of his rival initially. An out-and-out No. 9, he has also fared far better in the cold distance of eastern Europe than Tardelli did, whose brief stint at the equally briefly mega-rich Anzhi ended without the forward netting once.

There continue to be more questions than answers at the minute for Dunga and Brazil, but at least they are questions of the right kind at long last. Choosing which of an intriguing trio will partner his new captain in attack, as well as selecting a new leader from the front, are issues that can be observed with keen interest rather than dull dread.