I totally agree with you on the Dani Alves aspect as I see no logical reason why he's there.
But for Fred, as much as I'm not a big fan of his, I still think it's about the coach's preference for the system he wants to play. Sometimes coaches just feel comfortable working with some players irrespective of whoever is available and even doing better.
At the end of the day, it's their performance at the tournament that will justify their inclusion, so let's just give him the benefit of doubt for now
I will see how many minutes Fred will play in the world cup and how he will perform ;)