In preparation for facing Croatia on Friday (9), at noon (Brasília time), for the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar, striker Vinicius Junior discards the favoritism of the Brazilian selection against the next opponent. The decisive match will be at the Cidade da Educação Stadium, in the capital Doha. “In this Cup, there are no favorites, and Croatia, in the last Cup, reached the final. So, there is no easy game anymore. Playing against Croatia, by Luka Modric, who won the Ballon d’Or a little while ago, is complicated. But the people are aware that we have to go in there and change what happened in recent years. We want to win the quarterfinals and reach the semifinals. It’s one step at a time”, said the striker. Brazil has not defeated a European team in the knockout phase since the 2002 World Cup (Japan and South Korea) (2002), when it won its fifth title. On the occasion, the canary team beat Belgium, England and Turkey, in addition to defeating Germany in the final. With showy football in the three games in which he played, Vini was asked how he felt sharing the spotlight with Neymar. “I believe we have 26 players: if each one shares the responsibility, it won’t be heavy for anyone. Of course, players who play amis will have more responsibility. Ney doesn’t run away and I’m not afraid of that responsibility either. , in my best version to help the team, not only with goals but also when we have to lower the line to defend and help the defenders. It’s everyone’s responsibility, and all together it’s easier for everyone”. The striker also spoke of the need for the selection to continue evolving in the tournament. “Each game we have to improve and now [temos] a completely different opponent from Korea: they will come with a low block [na defesa] to try to take away our weapon which is the quality of the attack. The teacher [Tite] does everything to make it easier for us, gives us everything we need to do during the game. I speak for myself: I’m 22 years old, I try to improve with each game and in this Cup I’ve learned a lot that it’s important to be focused on games from beginning to end. The Real Madrid player also said that if it depends on the group’s desire to score goals, we will witness more dances in the celebrations. “The goal is the most important moment in football: not only are we happy, but now an entire country is happy for us. People like to complain when they see others happy, and Brazilians are always very happy, so let’s always affect a lot. There are still many celebrations to do. [Tomara] that we continue to do many balls and play well to reach the final at this rate. May we continue with our joy, because there are many more people for us than against us”, concluded the number 20. to recover from a hip injury. What has not yet been defined is whether he returns as a starter or starts on the bench. If Tite chooses to put him at the start of the duel, the tendency is for Éder Militão to be removed from the team, and Danilo plays on the right wing, as he did in his debut victory against Serbia by 2-0.
Agência Brasil
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