History in the World Cup:
With a record-setting five World Cup titles, Brazil is without a doubt the most successful national team on the planet. The Brazilians never failed to qualify for the competition and finished on the podium nine times out of the 19 World Cup campaigns and have been a member of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), since 1916. Though currently ranked 4th in the FIFA World Rankings, a Selecao are the favorite for the upcoming World Cup and will represent a threat for every other country.
Road to the 2014 World Cup:
The Verde-Amarela will be the host of football, which could not be more appropriate since Brazil is where the beautiful sport was born. Due to their hosting the competition, the Pentacampeones were automatically admitted to the World Cup and did not have to play the qualification rounds.
With a team like this, Brazil can be expected to be one of the finalists this Summer
Players to watch:
Brazil is probably the only team in the world where arguably every single player represents a serious threat and should be closely guarded. Thiago Silva, a Selecao’s captain and centre-back, is currently the number one defender on the planet. Since his first games with AC Milan, the Brazilian kept impressing and improving, year after year. With PSG, the young centre-back fulfilled his defensive duties, yet also scored 6 goals since he joined.
Thiago Silva will be an insurmountable wall for the opposition this Summer
Neymar Jr. is another player who will be highly dangerous this Summer, showing off his inhuman skills at home in front of his crowd. Though the winger has toned his somewhat trolling style of play since joining Barcelona, Neymar obtained worldwide fame with Santos, where he would humiliate the opposition with spectacular dribbling and jukes.
Brazilians have the highest expectations from one of their youngest talents, Neymar Jr.
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A look at Brazil’s manager:
Luiz Felipe Scolari is currently the coach of Brazil, however this is not his first run. The Brazilian had already managed a Selecao in 2002, leading them to their fifth World Cup title against Germany, and earning the team the nickname of Pentacampeones. Afterward, Felipao coached different teams, including the Portuguese national team and Chelsea. However, in 2012 the Brazilian-Italian manager was asked to coach Brazil again, which Big Phil accepted immediately, especially considering the honor of representing his country at home, in front of his people.
Brazil’s roster:
As specified above, most every player in the final 23 squad of a Selecao is worthy of a mention, due to the exceptional talent that the Pentacampeones can account on. For instance, for the full-back positions, which are normally every country’s weakest point, Brazil has two champions for each side. Marcelo, who won the Champions League with Real Madrid, and Maxwell, who won Ligue 1 with PSG are Scolari’s options for the left side. On the right side, Brazil can count on Barca’s Dani Alves and Roma’s Maicon, who had an incredible season. The midfield is again overpopulated by stellar talents, such as Willian, Ramires and Oscar, Chelsea’s talented players. Finally, though not a forward, Scolari nominated Hulk, Zenit’s biggest asset, to play up top with Neymar, Jo, and Fred.
Hulk will likely start next to Neymar, to form an unstoppable duo
