The group is set to be cut down to 20 for the games against the Brazilian outfit, which will take place on August 23 and 25 at Churchill Park and Govind Park respectively.
Fiji coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti clearly has one eye on the future and has therefore named a youthful squad to prepare for the matches.
The line-up is dominated by players from recent Battle of the Giants finalists Ba and Labasa and many were also members of the U-23 national side that came agonisingly close to qualifying for the just-completed London Olympic Games.
Now that Fiji are out of the running for a place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Fiji national team director Tarunesh Reddy says the focus must be on the tournaments of upcoming years, which include the 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea and the qualifying process for the 2018 World Cup.
He says the matches against Play Fair Brazil offer Fiji’s batch of promising youngsters the chance to test themselves against players who have achieved much in the game.
“Brazil is a nation renowned for producing many star footballers,” Reddy says.
“For the local players, facing the Brazilians will be the chance of a lifetime. We do not get to watch these kinds of players on our home soil very often.”
Play Fair Brazil is a team that travels the world to promote goodwill through football and help raise the level of the game in the respective countries it visits.
The side’s ranks have been known to include Giovanni and Zé Carlos – both members of the Brazil squad that finished runners-up at the 1998 FIFA World Cup – as well as 1994 World Cup winner Paulo Sérgio.
The Fiji players have plenty of work to do before they can earn the right to run out alongside the Brazil outfit’s band of former stars.
“The training squad players will undergo a fitness test and thereafter the coaches will work on the combinations. The final 20-member team will be named after these assessments,” Reddy says.
Fiji squad for Play Fair Brazil friendlies
Goalkeepers
Akuila Mateisuva (Labasa)
Beniaminio Mateinaqara (Nadi)
Vereti Dixon (Nadi)
Ratu Gasaubalavu (Ba)
Defenders
Remueru Tekiata (Ba)
Peniame Drova (Rewa)
Archie Watkins (Nadroga)
Manueli Kalou (Ba)
Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu (Labasa)
Krisneel Dutt (Nadroga)
Laisenia Raura (Ba)
Noa Vukica (Lautoka)
Taniela Waqa (Labasa)
Samuela Kautoga (Suva)
Samuela Vula (Suva)
Midfielders
Malakai Tiwa (Ba)
Zibraaz Sahib (Lautoka)
Taione Kerevanua (Labasa)
Misaele Draunibaka (Rewa)
Epeli Saukuru (Rewa)
Pita Bolatoga (Labasa)
Forwards
Roy Krishna (Waitakere United, New Zealand)
Osea Vakatalesau (Ba)
Maciu Dunadamu (Labasa)
Valerio Nawatu (Lautoka)
Tuimasi Manuca (Ba)
For more on Fiji football go to www.fijifootball.com.fj

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