Looking ahead
Brazil defender Daniel Alves attends a training session in Doha on Saturday. Brazil will play Egypt today.Photo: AFP
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 quarterfinal 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 quarterfinals.
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 week's friendly against Gabon and Monday's match against the Pharaohs.
However, stars such as the Real Madrid duo of Kaka and Marcelo won't 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.
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 isn't the best in the world, the results have shown us this," said Menezes.
"We've four teams - Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay - ahead of us in the FIFA rankings.
"We must get to that level again," Menezes said.
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