Tite shrugs off ‘easy draw’ as Brazil wait on Neymar

TITE warned Brazil must be “very careful” in the knockout stage when they will hope to have Neymar back from injury.

The Selecao lost 1-0 to Cameroon but still topped Group G, meaning they will face South Korea in the second round, rather than Portugal.

Spain’s defeat the previous day appeared to open up the draw further for Brazil, who would now play the winner of Japan’s clash with Croatia in the quarter-finals.

Regardless of their opponents, Brazil will feel more comfortable once Neymar is back in action, but he has not yet trained with a ball following his matchday one injury.

Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar added: “With 72 hours before the next match, we have time on our side. We still have possibilities.”

Meanwhile, forward Gabriel Jesus and defender Alex Telles have both been ruled out of the tournament after picking up injuries against Cameroon.

For Tite, with or without Neymar, his team will not become complacent, explaining: “Brazil lost to Cameroon. Portugal lost to South Korea. France lost to Tunisia. Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia. I think the results speak for themselves.

“I don’t think we can think any prior situation makes it easy.

“We were very careful against Cameroon. We were. They have merit for the victory like Tunisia and the others. We can’t say it’s easier and we have an advantage. We can’t say that.”

Tite had made nine changes to his team, selecting an entirely different XI to that which started their finals opener.

But he said: “Who lost? All of us. Our preparation is joint preparation, our wins are joint wins, our losses are also joint losses.”

The coach called on Brazil to “feel the loss”, saying: “The World Cup doesn’t give you a second chance, but this time it did.”