WE’RE ANGRY SERBS NOW … WE’RE READY TO KO BRAZIL!
SERBIA’S motivation is clear today. They must use the anger and frustration of what happened against Switzerland to make history and beat Brazil.
We need to win to survive and that could mean sending Brazil home. The last time they did not qualify from the group stage was in England in 1966 and this is our chance to rewrite that chapter.
There’s a huge sense of injustice back in Serbia that we did not get a penalty against Switzerland when Aleksandar
NEYMAR NEEDS HELP, SAYS TITE
BRAZIL head coach Tite has told his team they cannot expect Neymar to win the World Cup on his own as they prepare for Serbia in tonight’s crucial Group E clash in Moscow. Tite said a collective effort is needed for Brazil to seal a place in the last 16 rather than looking to a player who has only recently returned from injury. ‘There is an excessive responsibility (on Neymar),’ said Tite. ‘Each one of us has our own responsibility. We should not place it all on his shoulders.’ Mitrovic was wrestled to the ground by Fabian Schar and Stephan Lichtsteiner with the score at 1-1. I don’t know why the German referee Felix Brych said no and did not check. It’s strange. In that moment, he was too arrogant.
For Serbia, our anger, our energy, is best used competing against Brazil.
We can’t be scared of Brazil. We must trust in each other and recognise the chance to win a great game. Let’s do it. When we have to fight, often it brings the best out of us. In 2010 we lost to Ghana, then beat Germany — and we didn’t expect that result.
Brazil are under pressure to perform better every game. Like all the big nations, they have yet to play to their expected level. When Neymar rushed a shot over the bar from distance against Costa Rica 20 minutes from the end, I could see a little desperation coming into their game.
We won’t dominate possession but we must show we are proud to defend our country and then the element of surprise always exists.
It’s not about individuals. I have not spoken to Mitrovic. He needs this time to be quiet, to be focused and to listen to his national coach. He is a great professional and I believe he can still have his moment. He and Dusan Tadic played well against Switzerland but the others were not at their usual level. Today they all have to be as one and be clinical when the chances come.