Ronaldinho, Ramires, Kaka, Coutinho. Not a bad bunch of attacking talent.  More pertinently, they are four of the names not present on Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad sheet for this summer’s Confederations Cup, which takes place in Brazil.

Tim Vickery, South American football expert, was on last night’s Off the Ball to discuss Scolari’s squad, and what the exclusions mean for the players left behind.

Ronaldinho’s absence was the big surprise for Brazilian media, as his fine form for Atletico Mineiro – “he’s rolling back the years and really playing great stuff” according to Vickery - had many believing he could be an integral part of Scolari’s World Cup squad.

The problem seems to be a lack of faith that the former Barcelona star can still cut it at the very top level. Vickery told Ger “there are huge doubts” over his ability to be a viable option for next summer’s World Cup, and with this squad being a dress rehearsal for that tournament, it appears Ronaldinho may have run out of time to play a meaningful role with the Selecao.

“[Scolari] is the second brazil coach to have had a look at him and decided he’s not good enough for international football.”

“I fear this could be the end of the Ronaldinho story at international level,” said Vickery.

Ronaldinho and Kaka appears to be victims of the pressures of time, but not in the sense of their own ageing limbs. Scolari knows he faces a race against the clock to prepare a squad capable of winning the next World Cup. Anything less will not be acceptable to the Brazilian public. The nation still hasn’t fully got over losing the 1950 final, on home soil, to Uruguay. It has been argued in the past that, for most countries, their collective memory of grief revolves around war, whereas in Brazil it often revolves around the 1950 World Cup final. Scolari does not have time to mess about with experimentation or indulge in tinkering. This summer’s tournament is a crucial chance to blend his team into a world beating side, a chance he cannot afford to under-utilise.

“This is not an experimental squad. This is the squad. He’s under pressure already because of poor results. He needs to come out of this tournament with the crowd behind him and a very strong conception of his team in place,” said Vickery.

Youth is Scolari’s focus, according to Vickery, and “there’s lots of responsibility now being heaped on Oscar,” as the Chelsea man forms part of an attacking trio with Neymar and Bernard.

The Pressure on Neymar

For Neymar, this tournament counts for much more than just a mid-summer, casual exercise in preparation for the World Cup. For the Santos man, coveted by each and every of Europe’s giants it seems, there remains a lot to prove in international football.

Neymar has never seemed to enjoy international football, and Vickery believes it has become “something of a trauma for him”. There are worries in Brazil that their new golden boy is “becoming something of a tropical David Beckham” - that being someone more famous for his off field activities than on field play. As a result, the pressure continues to mount.

“Neymar is the one being singled out by the crowd for boos and jeers when the team doesn’t live up to expectations. That’s because he’s the reference figure, he’s seen as being number one,” Vickery said.

“That fear [of international football] has been there ever since he played the u17 cup, in 2009. Brazil managed to be one of the few teams who managed to be eliminated in the group stages and ever since then international football has been something of a trauma for him.”

Vickery gave a superb breakdown of the ins and outs of the current Brazil squad (excellent Portuguese pronunciations - that made Ger and Joe feel a little uncultured and inadequate - included) and this should be essential listening for anyone interested in how the world’s most decorated and exciting football nation are shaping up before next year’s world Cup.

Listen to the full segment via the player below