World Football

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Ronaldinho and Kaka will have to win back their places in the Brazil team after skipping the Copa America, coach Dunga said Monday.

Dunga said the pair would not be getting any special treatment and that the players who took part in the tournament in Venezuela had a head start in the race for places in the team.

Brazil won the Copa America, beating arch-rivals Argentina 3-0 in the final, despite the absence of the high-profile pair, who asked to be rested.

Both players, who said they were tired after a long season in Europe and were widely criticised for pulling out, have been recalled for Wednesday's friendly against Algeria in Montpellier, France.

"The players who were there (Venezuela) and took their chance are ahead in the pecking order," Dunga told Brazilian media in France. "That is natural, it's the way of things."

Dunga added: "We have to think about the whole team. Each one of the players has to win his place by what he does on the pitch."

Dunga, who took over exactly a year ago, has already left both players on the substitutes' bench.

During the Copa America, he repeatedly thanked the players who had taken part, saying they had left their families behind to play for their country.

His remarks were seen as an aside aimed at Ronaldinho and Kaka.

Wednesday's game, Brazil's first match against the North Africans since the 1986 World Cup, is part of a warm-up for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, which begin in South America in October.

Brazil are away to Colombia in their first game, then face Ecuador at home -- their first international in Brazil since October 2005.