Brazil coach Dunga heaped praise on Manchester City midfielder Elano after his goal scoring performance against Italy last night.

Elano was in impressive form at the Emirates Stadium, leaving Dunga puzzled as to why he has been so often left out of Mark Hughes' City team this season.

"His personal situation at the club is difficult and it can make life more difficult in the national squad," he said. "But Elano has always played very well with us.

"However, he also needs to be in good physical condition to play well.

"I don't want to talk too much about him because I want to protect him.

"He is a very skilled player, he has a lot of quality and also knows how to mark a player and find his team-mates as well as score goals himself."