Brazil arrives in Sochi full of confidence
Neymar, Ronaldo and Messi arrive at team bases as Cup fever builds
SOCHI, Russia — Neymar and his Brazil teammates landed on Russian soil in the early hours of Monday, fresh from beating Austria 3-0 in their final World Cup warmup match.
As the clock ticks down to Thursday’s tournament opener in Moscow between Russia and Saudi Arabia, five-time World Cup champion Brazil arrived at its Black Sea base in Sochi around 3 am local time.
The Brazilians made the journey with their confidence boosted after Neymar marked his first start in over three months by scoring against the Austrians in Vienna.
Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho netted either side of Neymar’s goal, as the Paris Saint-Germain superstar confirmed his return to fitness following foot surgery in early March.
The goal was Neymar’s 55th in a Brazil shirt, allowing him to draw level with Romario on his country’s list of all-time scorers. Only Pele and Ronaldo have scored more.
The 26-year-old came off the bench to score in the previous weekend’s 2-0 win over Croatia in Liverpool, his first appearance since breaking a bone in his foot playing for PSG in February.
Sunday’s goal was a superb effort, the former Barcelona man controlling Willian’s chipped pass on his thigh just inside the box and then leaving Austrian defender Aleksandar Dragovic on the turf with some nifty footwork before rolling the ball home.
Brazil coach Tite said he felt “extremely proud” of his team, but added the players could be more clinical on both sides of the ball.
“I don’t know Neymar’s limits,” he said. “His technical and creative capacity is impressive. When we get him in the last third of the field he is lethal.”
Drawn in Group E, Brazil, which is second behind defending world champion Germany in the FIFA rankings, begins its campaign against Switzerland on Sunday in Rostov-on-Don before also taking on Costa Rica in Saint Petersburg on June 22 and Serbia five days later.
Cristiano cheers
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo trained with Portugal on Sunday, as the European champion held its first World Cup training session in Kratovo, southeast of Moscow, five days ahead of its heavyweight opener against Spain in Sochi.
All 23 players in Fernando Santos’ squad took part in a 90-minute open session held in light drizzle and temperatures hovering just above 10 degrees Celsius.
Ronaldo’s presence elicited cheers from the 100 or so fans in attendance, with a similar number of media present along the touchline.
Portugal will need no reminding of the importance of its opener against Spain, after a 4-0 loss to Germany in Brazil four years ago set the tone for a dismal group-stage exit.
The winner will be in pole position to come out on top in a group that also includes Morocco and Iran.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the last 16.
Egypt is banking on the availability of Liverpool forward Mo Salah, who was injured in the Champions League final, as it tries to get past the first stage for the first time.
The Egyptians arrived in Russia on Sunday after Salah restricted himself to some brief dribbling during their final training session in Cairo on Saturday.
Argentina, spearheaded by the genius of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, also arrived in Russia on Sunday.
The South American giant is looking to refocus after its preparations were disrupted by Saturday’s friendly against Israel in Jerusalem being called off following protests by pro-Palestinian groups in Barcelona.
The Palestinian Football Association called on Arab soccer fans to burn posters of Messi if the match went ahead.
I don’t know Neymar’s limits. His technical and creative capacity is impressive. When we get him in the last third of the field he is lethal.” Tite, Brazil coach on his star forward Neymar