Brazil holds 1st partially closed training session ahead of Copa America

Teresopolis —  Brazil’s national team on Sunday held a training session attended by nine of 23 players, who partly practiced behind closed doors for the first time to prepare for the upcoming Copa America.

The training session was open to the media for 30 minutes and held at Granja Comary, a modern training complex in Teresopolis, a city located 98 kilometers (about 60 miles) from Rio de Janeiro.

During the 30-minute open part of the session, players, under the watchful eye of coach Tite, performed drills on a shortened field.

Neymar, who joined the national team on Saturday, seemed to be more serious than in the first session, apparently concerned about some discomfort.

At one point, the Paris Saint Germain star seemed to be struggling while walking after using a spray on his leg and then trying to stretch.

Neymar even abandoned the training session to speak with a coach, but he then returned to the field and trained at the same pace as his teammates.

Players will resume training on Tuesday and some are planning to visit their families in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, especially those who joined the squad directly from their European clubs.

Among the players who were granted permission to travel is Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, whose wife is pregnant.

Fernandinho, who returned to the national team after stepping away following criticism of his performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will stay at Granja Comary.

Neymar, for his part, did not make it clear whether or not he is going to stay in Teresopolis, but he has a private helicopter of his own.

The star joined the squad three days ahead of schedule, thanks to the permission PSG granted him to start preparations for the Copa America, which Brazil will host starting on June 14.

Last Wednesday, the first players to arrive in Teresopolis were forward Richarlison (Everton) and forward David Neres (Ajax), who had been called up instead of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.

Later that day, Casemiro (Real Madrid), Fernandinho (Manchester City) and Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) arrived.

Then, Ederson (Manchester City), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid) and Allan (Napoli) joined the squad.

The rest of the squad is expected to arrive in camp in the coming days, while Liverpool’s Alisson and Roberto Firmino will be the last to arrive, reporting on June 4 after taking part in the UEFA Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Brazil will stay in Teresopolis until June 4, heading to Brasilia a day before playing a friendly against Qatar, one of the teams invited to the tournament.

On June 9, Brazil is set to take on Honduras in Porto Alegre in its final friendly ahead of the Copa America.

Brazil is in Group A with Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru, and will open the tournament against Bolivia on June 14 at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium.