Morristown (United States) (AFP) – Danilo admitted on Wednesday that Brazil’s lacklustre start to the World Cup was “frightening,” but said he was confident the team would improve. The five-time world champions play Haiti on Friday in their second game after kicking off their Group C campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco last week.
“It was frightening, because there was an expectation that we would produce a big performance,” said the 34-year-old Flamengo defender. “When things don’t work out, it’s not easy to digest. We need to find balance. We were unbalanced both tactically and mentally,” he added.
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Danilo acknowledged that Brazil are currently a step behind favourites such as defending champions Argentina and France, but stressed they remain among the leading contenders. “We have to be clear: we don’t yet have the maturity that France or Argentina have today as a team,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t perform well, win matches and go far. If we can add one more star to the shirt, that would be wonderful.”
Despite Brazil’s clear superiority on paper, Danilo said the team respected Haiti, pointing to surprise results at the tournament such as Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain in Group H. “Everyone saw how Cape Verde defended against Spain,” he said. “Talking about thrashing Haiti would be crazy.”
Danilo also said he hoped injured forward Neymar would be fit to return soon from a calf injury that has kept him out of action since mid-May. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star received a playful guard of honour from his team-mates Wednesday as he trained with them for the first time at this World Cup.
“I often talk with players about opponents… If you have a player like Neymar up against you, there’s more pressure and you’re always asking for help,” he explained. “Just by being on the pitch, he can disrupt everything the opponent has prepared.”
© 2024 AFP
