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Dorival Junior held his first training session as Brazil head coach in London on Monday after taking charge of the ‘Selecao’ in January. The players were put through their paces at the training ground of English Premier League leaders Arsenal, on the northern outskirts of the British capital, as they gear up to face England and Spain in prestige friendlies on Saturday and next Tuesday. Dorival will have to make do without many first-team regulars with the Arsenal duo of Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli missing with injuries as well as captain Casemiro, Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson and Paris St Germain defender Marquinhos. Brazil face Gareth Southgate’s England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday before taking on Spain at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu three days later. Dorival Junior was named head coach after stepping down from Sao Paulo in January to replace interim coach Fernando Diniz. The 61-year-old led Flamengo to the Copa Libertadores title and the Brazilian Cup in 2022 before joining Sao Paulo, whom he guided to their first Brazilian Cup last year. Brazil are currently in South America's sixth and final automatic qualifying place for the 2026 World Cup and are warming up for this year’s Copa America, which will be hosted in the United States from June 20th to July 14th.
