Experimental Brazil look for boost against Egypt

13 November 2011 11:46

Brazil make their third appearance in as many years here on Monday, this time taking on ailing African giants Egypt in a friendly international being held to raise money for the people of famine-stricken Somalia.

The match is a golden opportunity for the Selecao to test some of their upcoming players for future tournaments, most notably the 2014 World Cup which Brazil are hosting.

After crashing out at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup in South Africa last year, which led to the exit of coach Dunga, Brazil are under increasing pressure from the media and fans to put together a comprehensive strategy for 2014.

Anything short of the title on home soil would be treated as a national disaster - a scenario coach Mano Menezes and the players are well aware of especially after they flopped in the Copa America this summer bowing out in the quarter-finals.

To this end, Menezes has been using friendlies to try various combinations in order to get a sense of what sort of talent he has at his disposal.

But with the Brazilian national championship in its final stages, he has been forced to rely on mostly foreign-based players both for last weeks friendly against Gabon and Mondays match against the Pharaohs.

However, stars such as the Real Madrid duo of Kaka and Marcelo wont be figuring in the team to play Egypt because of injuries.

Their 19-year-old sensation Neymar, who is being tipped to be the star of the 2014 showpiece, is also not available due to his commitments with Santos in the Brazilian championship.

Neymar, who has drawn early comparisons with Pele, has appeared in 13 of 15 Brazil matches this year scoring seven goals and his absence will deprive an expected bumper crowd in Doha a glimpse of his famed talent.

That leaves the squad with only four players who have scored an international goal for the team - Daniel Alves who has five, Luisao who has three and Hernanes and Sandro with one each after both scored against Gabon last week.

Porto striker Hulk is also under tremendous pressure to perform, having not scored a single goal in six appearances for the national team, despite netting 35 for his club side last season.

"The Brazilian national team isnt the best in the world, the results have shown us this," said Menezes.

"Weve four teams - Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay - ahead of us in the FIFA rankings.

"We must get to that level again," Menezes said.

The Egyptians are also in a somewhat similar position as far as their recent results are concerned.

The three-time Africa Cup of Nations champions failed to qualify for next years edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Before that they had failed to make the World Cup in South Africa, losing out to bitter rivals Algeria in the play-off.

But they have hired Bob Bradley as their new coach and the former United States handler has been busy watching domestic matches in order to rebuild the Egyptian team.

"The match in Doha is the first opportunity for me to work with the players," said Bradley.

"I wish to stress the point that the game wont be an indication of the teams future because our preparation period has been quite short.

"Of course, when you play against Brazil, you want to do your best, because theyre one of the worlds best teams," he said.

Source: AFP