Neymar will go into the competition fresh after the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) refused to allow him to compete in last month’s Copa América Centenario.

Under FIFA regulations, clubs are obliged to release players for tournaments on the international calendar A-list, a grouping which includes the Copa América but not the Olympics.

Due to Brazil having never won an Olympic title in the sport, however, the latter aim was considered more important both from the CBF's and from Neymar's perspectives.

The 24-year-old is joined by Barcelona team-mate Rafinha in the Brazilian squad, which also includes Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos, Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson and rising star Gabriel Barbosa of Santos.

Neymar was a member of the Brazilian squad that claimed a silver medal at London 2012 after losing the final to Mexico at Wembley Stadium, 2-1.

He will also be seeking to atone for his last major tournament in Brazil, the 2014 World Cup, which ended in the humiliation of a 7-1 semi-final defeat to eventual winners Germany.

The home nation have been drawn in Group A alongside South Africa, Iraq and Denmark with the top two teams advancing to the quarter-finals.

Brazil’s South American rivals Argentina have also named their 18-strong squad for Rio 2016 after having major problems securing the release of players.

Juventus' Paulo Dybala and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi are among the notable absentees, however, Argentina Olympic Committee (COA) President Gerardo Werthein was just relieved to have a squad for the Games. 

"We got the team out with forceps," he told Argentine newspaper La Nación.

Upon returning from the Copa América Centenario in the United States, Gerardo Martino quit as Argentina coach having found out he had only nine players confirmed in the squad for Olympic training last week.

Under-20s coach Julio Olarticoechea, who was part of Argentina's 1986 World Cup-winning squad, has replaced Martino

Forward Jonathan Calleri, currently on loan at São Paulo from Uruguayan side Deportivo Maldonado, will be one of the last players to join the squad having been called up after Spanish club Atlético Madrid refused to sanction Luciano Vietto's participation. 

Calleri, 22, scored in São Paulo’s match against Colombian side Atlético Nacional in the Copa Libertadores semi-final on Wednesday (July 13), but his team was eliminated after losing 4-1 on aggregate.

Defender Víctor Cuesta and goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli are Argentina's two over-23 players with the former a strong candidate for the captaincy.

Argentina have been drawn in Group D with Algeria, Honduras and Portugal, whose 18-man squad doesn’t feature any of the players that contributed to the country’s successful campaign at the recent European Championships in France.

With two caps to his name, midfielder Andre Martins is the only player in the squad with senior international experience.

Nigeria coach Samson Siasia is sweating on the availability of some key players three weeks before their Group B opener against Japan. 

The likes of Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, Porto’s Mikel Agu and Çaykur Rizespor's Godfrey Oboabona have been ruled out of the Games owing to commitments with their clubs, while Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel, Watford’s Odion Ighalo, K.R.C. Genk’s Wilfred Ndidi are among those doubtful.

The Rio 2016 football competition is scheduled to be held from August 3 to 20. 

In addition to the Olympic host city of Rio de Janeiro, matches will also be played in Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Salvador, São Paulo, and Manaus.

Men's teams are restricted to under-23 players with a maximum of three over-aged players allowed, while there are no age restrictions on women's teams.