The World Cup is going to be “very special,” according to Neymar, who left England off of his list of tournament favorites.
Neymar has praised the possibility of the Selecao winning a sixth world championship in his remarks prior to their World Cup campaign in Qatar. The 30-year-old has also talked about Brazil’s top competitors, and his list omits England, who placed second in the 2020 competition.
Neymar’s comment
”The ones I played in are special for me, one of them because Brazil hosted and the other one because it was my second World Cup. And I believe this one will also be very special,” Neymar said in an interview with The Guardian. ”The World Cup is full of surprises. You get teams that unexpectedly get very far even in the competition even if many don’t believe in them. But I believe the favourites are Argentina, Germany, Spain and France. I think those four along with Brazil are fully capable of reaching the final.”
Pressed on England’s chances of competing for the trophy, Neymar replied: ”I really forgot about England but obviously they have a chance!”
Neymar’s home country’s tournament in 2014 came to an emotional end when a major back injury he sustained in the quarterfinal ruined his participation. He is perhaps at the height of his abilities at the age of 30, and he leads a Brazil team that many believe is capable of capturing the trophy once more.
Brazil’s World Cup fixture
The Brazilian’s World Cup campaign with the Selecao gets underway against Serbia in Group G the next week.