Brazil drop Milan trio

Brazil have omitted forward Kaka, wingback Cafu and goalkeeper Dida from next month's World Cup qualifier against Bolivia after the AC Milan trio were not released for this week's "Peace Game" in Haiti.

The three were all left out of the 23-man squad announced on the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) official website on Tuesday for the match in Sao Paulo on September 5 and a friendly international away to Germany three days later.

Brazil will field most of their top players, including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, when they take on Haiti in a friendly in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.

But Kaka, one of the revelations in the last European season, Cafu, who captained Brazil's World Cup winning team in 2002, and Dida all pulled out after AC Milan refused to release them, the CBF said.

Germany's Bayern Munich told defender Lucio and midfielder Ze Roberto not to travel and the pair have also been dropped from the September games.

The Haiti match is taking place on a date allocated by FIFA but European clubs are not obliged to release players because the game is outside their own continent.

On Monday, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira criticised Milan but said the players could have put more pressure on the Italian club.

"The club was determined not to release them ... but at a moment like this, the players have to squeeze the club a bit," he told reporters in neighbouring Dominican Republic, where Brazil are staying before the game.

Parreira added: "This game (against Haiti) is a bit different. A little bit of good will was missing and as well as an understanding of the importance of this game."

The Haiti game, aimed at promoting peace between he warring factions in the Caribbean country, was arranged on the initiative of the Brazilian government.

In June, a United Nations force led by 1,200 Brazilian troops took over command of peacekeeping operations from the United States following a bloody rebellion that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February.

Because of security concerns, Parreira's squad will stay in Haiti for just a few hours under the protection of Brazilian soldiers.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Fabio (Vasco da Gama), Julio Cesar (Flamengo)

Defenders: Belletti (Villareal, Spain), Maicon (Monaco, France), Cris (Cruzeiro), Luisao (Benfica, Portugal), Roque Junior (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Gustavo Nery (Werder Bremen, Germany), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid, Spain)

Midfielders: Edmilson (Barcelona, Spain), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal, England), Julio Baptista (Sevilla, Spain), Alex (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Renato (Sevilla, Spain), Diego (Porto, Portugal), Edu (Arsenal, England), Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyon, France)

Forwards: Adriano (Inter Milan, Italy), Luis Fabiano (Sao Paulo), Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Spain), Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Spain), Robinho (Santos)