Philippe Coutinho and Robinho Named in Brazil Squad for France, Chile Friendlies

Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho has unsurprisingly been rewarded with a call-up for Brazil's friendly matches against France and Chile, while Real Madrid's Marcelo will be making his return to the squad for the first time under manager Dunga.

Santos' Robinho will also be returning to the squad, a surprise inclusion for the veteran forward. The full selection, as reported by Goal:

Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Marcelo Grohe (Gremio), Diego Alves (Valencia)

Defenders: David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Miranda (Atletico Madrid), Fabinho (Monaco), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Chelsea), Danilo (Porto).

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Elias (Corinthians), Souza (Sao Paulo), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Coutinho (Liverpool), Douglas Costa (Shakhtar Donetsk).

Forwards: Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim), Neymar (Barcelona), Diego Tardelli (Shandong Luneng), Robinho (Santos).

The 22-year-old Coutinho only has five caps for Brazil under his belt and was not a member of the 2014 World Cup squad, but his recent form in England has caught the attention of manager Dunga.

He has scored twice in his last three appearances, per WhoScored.com, and has been pivotal to the Reds' resurgence, which has seen the team jump to fifth in the Premier League standings. His last performance against Burnley was also spectacular, via Squawka:

Coutinho's four goals and four assists this season hardly tell the whole story—he's been the Reds' most consistent threat on the ball, drawing defenders in and creating acres of space for his team-mates.

Marcelo hadn't been a part of the Brazilian team since Dunga took over as manager after the World Cup, and according to ESPN FC, the manager criticised the Real Madrid full-back's playing style as a reason not to call him up, leading to a minor row.

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Real manager Carlo Ancelotti came to the defence of his full-back after Dunga gave a particularly harsh assessment of Marcelo's performance at the World Cup.

He told O Globo (h/t ESPN FC), "How many times did Marcelo go on the attack in the World Cup? Twenty times. How many goals did he score or create? None. How many times were our defenders caught out with balls over the top? Three or four."

He's now back, and AS' Nicholas Rigg wonders whether the defender will use that opportunity to talk to FC Porto's Danilo about a potential reunion in Madrid:

The highly rated right-back has been linked with a move to Real, as reported by Marca's J.F. Diaz, so he'll be looking forward to spending some quality time with a potential future team-mate.

Dunga's most surprising selections are goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, a bit of a mystery man who had an excellent season last year for Gremio, and Robinho, who has started to find his shooting boots again since moving back to his native Brazil.

The 31-year-old has scored eight goals in 15 total matches, per WhoScored, flashing the potential that made him such a sought-after transfer target when he first moved to Europe in 2005.

Brazil will play France in Paris on March 26 before their highly anticipated clash with Chile in London three days later.

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