Brazil still to gel ahead of World Cup: Pele
SAO PAULO: Brazil may be five-time winners of the World Cup and joint favourites to make it six in Russia this year but the South Americans do not yet have the right blend for success, three-time World Cup winner Pele said on Wednesday.
Brazil have lost once in 20 games since coach Tite took over almost two years ago but he has been forced to chop and change his side in recent friendlies due to injuries.
“I have the utmost confidence in Tite’s ability,” Pele said.
“My worry is about one thing; there are only a few days until the World Cup starts and we still don’t have the right team. Individually, all the players are very good. But we’re not a team.”
Talismanic forward Neymar injured a foot and ankle in February and full-back Dani Alves dropped out the squad due to a knee injury. Renato Augusto and Douglas Costa picked up strains that kept them out of Sunday’s 2-0 win over Croatia.
Neymar returned at halftime in the game to lead Brazil to victory and Pele, the only player to have won the World Cup three times, said the Paris St Germain striker was capable of inspiring Brazil to the title in Russia.
“Neymar is to me one of the best players in the world,” Pele said. “Today he is more mature and he has more experience but he isn’t going to win the World Cup on his own. It’s teams that win the World Cup.
“The greatest Brazil team was the one in 1970, with Tostao, Rivellino, Gerson and Pele all wearing the number 10 shirts for their clubs. In the 1970 World Cup we spent more than six months together. That’s why it worked.”
Brazil have played only three friendly matches this year and face one final warm-up on Sunday against Austria in Vienna.
The side kicks off their World Cup campaign against Switzerland on June 17 before facing Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E.
● LISBON: Portugal coach Fernando Santos still has a lot of doubts about the team he will field in their opening World Cup match against neighbours Spain, he said on Wednesday.
The coach, who led Portugal to their Euro 2016 triumph in France two years ago, also confirmed that captain Cristiano Ronaldo would start Thursday’s friendly at home to Algeria, their final warm-up match.
Ronaldo, Portugal’s most capped player and record scorer, missed the first week of training and the friendlies against Tunisia and Belgium after playing for Real Madrid in the Champions League final against Liverpool at the end of last month.
“The same thing happened before Euro 2016 with Ronaldo and Pepe, when they both played in the Champions League final,” Santos told reporters. “Ronaldo will definitely start the game.”
Ten players from the Euro 2016 squad have missed out on the trip to Russia, either due to injuries or a loss of form at club level, and Santos has already said it is proving more difficult to pick the team than it was two years ago.
“I have a lot of doubts, I have 23 players and full confidence in each of them,” he said. “There is one week to go, we will have to see what happens in training.
“Of course, there is a basis for the team and some players are closer to the starting line-up. But it would not make any sense at this stage to predict the 11 as there are so many uncertainties.”
Portugal face Spain in Sochi on June 15 in a group which also includes Morocco and Iran. – Reuters