Casemiro is confident Brazil can get by without Neymar for now as he backed "the star of the team" to get fit in time for the business end of the World Cup.

An ankle ligament injury forced Neymar to be substituted late on in Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday, as they got their Qatar 2022 campaign under way.

Richarlison scored both of Brazil's goals, and the Tottenham striker's form is one factor that gives holding midfielder Casemiro heart.

Neymar will certainly miss the game against Switzerland on Monday, and most likely the clash with Cameroon on Friday.

Whether he can recover in time to feature in the knock-out stages remains to be seen, but Brazil are optimistic.

Casemiro, quoted by Brazilian newspaper Globo, said: "If we keep talking about Neymar, we'll stay here for days, because of his importance.

"He's the star of the team, who makes the difference. But we have other similar players: Raphinha, Vini [Vinicius Junior], Richarlison. We have a wide range of options.

"Neymar is one of the best in the world, and unfortunately he will not be in the next game, but we have quality players to replace him, but of course not at his level."

Casemiro cited Lucas Paqueta of West Ham as a player who might come into the starting line-up and bring added verve in Neymar's absence.

"He is another important player," Casemiro said. "Very dynamic, modern. He plays outside, inside, false nine."

Defender Danilo is also on the Brazil sidelines for now, but Manchester United star Casemiro is backing both to pull out all the stops to be back in contention for Tite's starting side.

"Danilo and Neymar are working morning, afternoon and night, making the greatest effort in the world. They know they are important," Casemiro said.

"We have great professionals and health comes first. They will do everything to return 100 per cent as soon as possible."

Neymar described the injury that has put his World Cup on ice as "one of the hardest moments of my career" after the Brazil star was sidelined by an ankle problem.

He has been ruled out of the Selecao's second Group G game against Switzerland on Monday and could also miss the tussle with Cameroon four days later.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward suffered a heavy knock to his right ankle after a challenge from Nikola Milenkovic in Thursday's 2-0 win against Serbia, needing to be substituted in the 80th minute.

He was fouled nine times in the game, more than any other player in a World Cup matchday one group game in Qatar. The next highest number was the five sustained by Spain's Gavi against Costa Rica.

Neymar is looking to crown his fine career with a World Cup triumph, and he is confident about getting back to full fitness and playing a role later in the tournament.

"The pride and love I feel for wearing the shirt has no explanation," he wrote on Instagram. "If God gave me the opportunity to choose a country to be born, it would be BRAZIL.

"Nothing in my life was given or easy. I always had to chase my dreams and my goals. Never wishing evil on anyone but helping those in need.

"Today has become one of the hardest moments in my career... and again in a World Cup. I have an injury yes, it's annoying, it's going to hurt but I'm sure I'll have the chance to come back because I will do my best to help my country, my team-mates and myself."

He was seen in tears on the Brazil bench towards the end of the game, and it would be a grim state of affairs for the 30-year-old if his injury is not one he quickly shakes off.

Neymar added: "Wait a long time for the enemy to knock me down like this? NEVER! I am a CHILD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE GOD and my FAITH is endless."

Fitness worries at the World Cup are nothing new for Neymar. He was forced out of the 2014 finals, which Brazil hosted, when he suffered a back injury in the quarter-final win against Colombia.

Across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined, Neymar was fouled a leading 44 times – or once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.

Neymar and Danilo have been ruled out of Brazil's clash with Switzerland through injury.

Both players sustained ankle problems in Thursday's 2-0 win over Serbia with Neymar later seen in tears on the bench after being caught by a strong challenge from Nikola Milenkovic.

Brazilian media were speculating the Paris Saint-Germain forward was unlikely to play again until the knockout phase but doctor Rodrigo Lasmar would only go as far as confirming both players would not be ready to take on Switzerland on Monday.

He said: "Neymar and Danilo started treatment on their injuries immediately after our match on Thursday.

"This morning they were re-evaluated, we thought it was important to have MRI scans in order to have further information regarding the recovery of both players.

"The scans showed a lateral ligament injury on Neymar's right ankle and a medial ligament injury on Danilo's left ankle.

"Both players remain in treatment. It's very important that we remain calm, tranquil and we will re-evaluate daily, in order to have the best information and make the best decisions regarding the injuries.

"We can tell you that both players will not play in the next match, but they remain in treatment and our objective is for them to recover in time for the rest of the competition."

The loss to injury of Neymar - Brazil's star man - should come as no surprise as he was once again targeted by the opposition at the Lusail Stadium.

He was fouled nine times by Serbia players, one shy of his own Brazil World Cup record (10 versus Switzerland in 2018), before being substituted with 10 minutes to play.

Across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined, Neymar was fouled a leading 44 times – or once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris believes Richarlison has proven his qualities for Brazil, silencing his doubters with a double against Serbia.

Richarlison was the star of the show for Brazil in Doha on Thursday, as Tite's team started their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.

The Tottenham forward tucked in an opportunistic opener in the 62nd minute, before lashing an acrobatic attempt into the left-hand corner to seal the victory in style.

Brazil's win was marred by an ankle injury for Neymar, though Tite was confident the Paris Saint-Germain star would recover.

Asked about his Spurs team-mate, as well as Neymar's injury, while previewing France's Group D clash with Denmark, Lloris said: "Neymar is an icon in global football, but I'm not going to talk about him that much, I don't know how serious the injury is.

"For Richarlison, I'm delighted for him, he's not one of the better-known players in the Brazil squad and maybe not everyone expected to be in XI, but he's a great player, a great goalscorer – as he proved with the first goal but then a wonderful second goal.

"[It was] spectacular, and the best goal of the tournament so far, so that's great for him.

"We know how good a team Brazil is, they're favourites. They'll be delighted to win the first game, that's what they needed to do, to get out on the front foot."

Holders France can seal their place in the last 16 by beating Denmark on Saturday, though they go into that match having lost their last two meetings with the Danes, both of those defeats coming in this year's Nations League.

Lloris said: "It gives you an idea of the level of this Danish team, it's an excellent side and capable of beating the best.

"It's been a wake-up for us, we can't say we don't know them and we don't need extra motivation, [it's] a decisive game for qualification. If you look at the first games between Tunisia and Denmark, you can see that we have a lot of work to do. Every team is in a good place."

"They are underestimated," France coach Didier Deschamps said of Denmark, who have kept a clean sheet in three of their last five World Cup games.

"We're talking about just between June and September where they beat us twice and made life difficult. We have to make sure that's not the case. It's not a question of revenge, we know their players, they know us.

"We'll learn from those experiences but Denmark can learn too."

Tite admitted it was a tough call to pick a starting striker, but he was thrilled with the performance of Richarlison after netting both of Brazil's goals in their 2-0 victory against Serbia on Thursday.

Richarlison got the nod at number nine ahead of Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus and Flamengo's Pedro, and after a scoreless first half, he was on hand to prod home the opener in the 62nd minute after Vinicius Junior's shot was parried into his path.

That would just be the appetiser, as just 10 minutes later he produced what will be a contender for goal of the tournament as he controlled Vinicius' shin-high cross with his left foot, popping it up in the air before acrobatically spinning and volleying it home over his shoulder with his right boot.

It was his 19th senior international goal, to go with 88 club goals in his career, and after the match he said he believes it could be his best.

"It was a beautiful goal," he told reporters. "Probably one of the nicest in all of my career.

"It's the World Cup, it was a tough match… it was one of the nicest goals I have ever scored."

Tite spoke about how agonising it was to choose between the wealth of forward talent at his disposal, but also of how impressed he was by Richarlison, particularly in the second half.

"I must tell you, I had six or seven names to call [as striker], and whoever I called, we would have had a great team," Tite said. 

"So we came with Pedro, Richarlison and Gabriel. We could have had [Gabriel] Barbosa, we could have had Firmino, we could have had [Matheus] Cunha, we could have had Hulk. We have a huge number, and you have to pick someone.

"Richarlison is fantastic, we see how he controls the ball… in the second half he created a lot of volume, he adjusted, he calmed down a little bit, he was more precise in his passes.

"The first touch of the ball is crucial to make it flow, and then he started with volume, volume, volume of plays."

When asked if he was potentially disappointed with how much of a struggle things were early on, Tite made it clear he does not view Serbia as an easy fixture.

"Serbia were very, very good, very quick in the first half," he said. "But here, you have to keep that rhythm, and keep that level of marking during the entire match.

"They ended the first half very quick, very good technical skill, they were able to start the ball and put it into play quickly, and we weren't able to stop them from putting the ball into play.

"They are a team, which in the qualifiers they took out Portugal, and in a very consistent manner they played in the qualifiers with opponents at a very high level. They are a great team, and we were able to control them in both halves. We were able to produce more offensively in the second half because of our fine-tuning.

"They had very, very high quality. There was always a lot of pressure, so it did require a lot from us."

Brazil will continue their campaign in Group G on Monday when they take on Switzerland, before closing their group stage against Cameroon next Friday.

Dragan Stojkovic was made to rue Serbia's injury problems after their defeat by Brazil, believing they could have mounted a greater challenge with a fully-fit squad.

The Eagles went down 2-0 against the five-time World Cup winners in their opening match at the finals, with Richarlison's second-half double settling the Group F clash at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Having just returned from a foot injury, Aleksandar Mitrovic failed to register a single shot on goal, while Dusan Vlahovic appeared from the bench after recently recovering from a groin problem, and winger Filip Kostic was an unused substitute due to muscular issues.

Stojkovic believes his side felt the consequences of having three key players lacking fitness.

"One of the factors [in Serbia's performance] that was quite surprising for me was the physical factor," he said. "We simply could not recognise our team.

"In the second half, we fell physically, and we were no longer a team. Of course, Brazil knew how to take advantage of this because they have excellent players, and they punished us.

"We have three key players who are injured, it's too much for us. We are not Brazil with 200 million people, we are a very small country. They got injured just before the World Cup, so it's really unlucky.

"Tonight, we would have a different scenario if my players were healthy, but there’s no shame to lose against Brazil.

"It would be a completely different story, 100 per cent, but they are not ready and that’s the way it is."

Serbia have now lost eight of their 10 World Cup matches since 2006, with only Australia (nine) registering more defeats during that time.

Stojkovic's side will look to respond when they face Cameroon on Monday, before concluding their Group G campaign against Switzerland four days later.

Tite is confident Neymar will continue playing at the World Cup for Brazil despite the ankle injury he sustained in a bruising opening contest with Serbia.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward limped off in the latter stages of the Selecao's 2-0 victory, which was sealed by Richarlison's second-half brace, having been repeatedly fouled at Lusail Stadium.

Neymar looked close to tears as he received treatment on the bench, before being pictured with a swollen ankle as he made his way to the dressing room.

Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed the 30-year-old will undergo further assessment in the next 24 to 48 hours but Tite, who revealed Neymar continued playing a further 11 minutes after sustaining the injury, is adamant he will return.

"[Neymar] felt this pain throughout the game, but he decided to stay on the pitch to help his team," the head coach said. 

"So it's remarkable that he could bear this pain while his team was playing. He stayed 11 minutes on the pitch after his injury, until the moment he could no longer continue, and he was substituted.

"We are confident that Neymar will continue playing; he will continue playing in the World Cup.

"I didn't see Neymar was injured – the capacity he had to overcome it tricked me, I only saw it now in the video. When he actually dribbled, it caused that injury, and in that second goal you see when he controlled the ball that he felt it."

Richarlison scored twice as Brazil opened their World Cup campaign with a routine 2-0 win over Serbia.

The Tottenham forward broke the deadlock with a close-range finish just after the hour mark at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Richarlison then sealed the points with a stunning acrobatic effort 17 minutes from time as Tite's side made a winning start in Group G.

The Selecao remain unbeaten in their opening match at the finals since 1934, when they lost 3-1 to Spain in the first round.

Unbeaten in their past 15 World Cup group games, Brazil controlled the first half, but without creating many goalscoring opportunities.

Casemiro tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic with an ambitious effort from distance, while the Serbia goalkeeper was quickly off his line to prevent Vinicius Junior latching onto Thiago Silva's precise throughball.

The Selecao carved their opponents' defence open with a neat one-two between Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta in the 35th minute, but the Barcelona forward could only shoot straight at Milinkovic-Savic.

Brazil carried a greater threat after the break. Milinkovic-Savic rescued Serbia by denying Raphinha, who had dispossessed Nemanja Gudelj outside his own penalty area, while Neymar fired wide from close range.

Alex Sandro rattled the post from 30 yards before the Samba Boys finally broke through in the 62nd minute; Richarlison prodding home the rebound after Milinkovic-Savic parried Vinicius' initial effort. 

Richarlison then gave Brazil breathing space in emphatic fashion 11 minutes later; controlling Vinicius' low, hard cross with his left foot, before swivelling and sending a magnificent acrobatic volley flying into the bottom corner with his right.

Tite's side almost increased their advantage as Casemiro hit the crossbar and Milinkovic-Savic denied Rodrygo, but the two-goal margin was enough to lift them to the Group G summit.

Dani Alves believes Kylian Mbappe "has still not understood" the value of playing with "geniuses" Lionel Messi and Neymar in Paris Saint-Germain's attack.

Mbappe is the leading marksman in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals – one more than Brazil international Neymar – while he is just 11 away from breaking Edinson Cavani's club record tally of 200.

However, the France international has only registered two assists in the French top flight this term, with Messi (10) and Neymar (nine) recording 19 between them.

Alves spent two years playing alongside Mbappe and Neymar in Paris, having also previously won multiple honours alongside the latter and Messi at Barcelona.

The Brazil full-back who, at 39, was handed a chance to become his nation's oldest World Cup player, feels the 23-year-old Mbappe's goalscoring exploits would be even greater should be pass to his team-mates more often.

"Neymar and Messi are unique, they see and do things that no one else sees or can do," Alves told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "You have to be smart to take advantage of their potential, they are the two geniuses of football.

"I think I can touch the ball well, but when I was playing with Leo, I was giving him the ball. And if I play with Ney, I give him the ball. If Mbappe gave the ball to those two, he would score 150 goals [in a season].

"A great player always has to know and understand who he is playing with. Your team-mates enrich your qualities.

"Mbappe is a phenomenon who has still not understood that those who play in attack with him are more phenomenal than him."

Brazil begin their Qatar 2022 campaign against Serbia as tournament favourites and with high hopes, but head coach Tite accepts lessons must be learned from recent failures.

The Selecao have won a record five World Cups, though not since 2002 – when beating Germany 2-0 in the final – have they lifted the most famous trophy of them all.

Since then, Brazil have reached the semi-final only once and have suffered three quarter-final exits, including four years ago at the hands of Belgium.

But as Tite becomes the first manager to lead Brazil into successive World Cups since Tele Santana in the 1980s, the experienced coach is hopeful of a better outcome this time.

"I know more how to focus my attention now," he told The Guardian, reflecting specifically on his side's 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their opening game of Russia 2018.

"I was also naive and inexperienced. I told my players not to complain about refereeing against Switzerland because of VAR, but there was a foul on our player.

"If and when it happens again, you need to respectfully complain and speak to the referee. We did this against Ecuador that year. We have learned."

Brazil are the only team to have taken part in every single World Cup since its original edition in 1930, with this being their 22nd appearance in the global showpiece.

The South American giants are unbeaten in their past 15 group matches, winning 12, and have topped their pool in each edition since 1982.

Serbia are first up for Brazil at Lusail Stadium on Thursday in Group G, which also includes Switzerland and Cameroon.

As an independent nation, Serbia have been eliminated in the group stage in all three World Cup appearances, but they qualified this year unbeaten in their eight qualifiers.

Question marks remain over the fitness of a number of key players, such as Sasa Lukic, Filip Kostic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, with the latter having not played in nearly a month.

"I sincerely hope they will be ready," head coach Dragan Stojkovic told reporters. "But what will happen until the game, I don't know. Everything is done so that they are ready. 

"Motivationally and psychologically, there are no problems. We haven't wanted to risk their fitness so far. We will do everything to ensure everyone is in gear and ready."

Brazil have won each of their two previous encounters with Serbia, including their group-stage fixture at the last World Cup when prevailing 2-0.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brazil - Neymar

Entering what is his third and – in his own words – possibly final World Cup, Neymar needs just three goals to surpass Pele as Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer.

While the Selecao have fallen short in his two participations, the in-form Paris Saint-Germain forward can be pleased with his own output, having scored six goals and assisted two.

In fact, since his World Cup debut on home soil in 2014, Neymar has been directly involved in 42 per cent of his side's 19 goals in the competition.

Serbia - Aleksandar Mitrovic

If Serbia are to pull off a big upset then they will need to have their star players available, not least prolific striker Mitrovic.

The Fulham man scored eight goals in eight matches on the road to Qatar – a goal tally only Memphis Depay and Harry Kane (both 12) could better in European qualifiers.

Mitrovic has also been in superb form at club level this campaign, scoring nine goals in 12 Premier League outings to sit fourth in the Golden Boot race.

PREDICTION

Serbia have lost seven of their nine World Cup games and have been handed an extremely difficult opener, but they showed in qualifying they are a tough side to beat.

Stats Perform's AI supercomputer prediction model gives Stojkovic's side a 14.3 per cent chance of defeating Brazil.

Victory for the Selecao has a 65.6 per cent chance likelihood of happening, meanwhile, and a draw is predicted at 20.1 per cent.

Rodrygo is confident he can deliver for Brazil at the World Cup as he looks to bring an end to 20 years of "suffering".

The South American giants open their campaign on Thursday against Serbia and are among the favourites in Qatar as they seek to end two decades of dominance from European nations.

Having triumphed in 2002, Brazil have since been knocked out at the quarter-finals in three of the last four tournaments, while being hammered 7-1 by Germany at the semi-final stage on home soil in 2014.

At 21, Rodrygo is too young to remember the last triumph by the five-time winners but has experienced his fair share of pain as a supporter and set his sights on involvement in Qatar following Brazil's defeat to Belgium four years ago.

"Man, we've been suffering for 20 years. I was crying when we lost in 2006," he wrote for the Player's Tribune.

"In 2010, I was in Osasco seeing people paint the streets green and yellow. Nobody was working. School? Forget it. It's not that I skipped school. There was no school. Even the teachers had fled.

"In 2014, I watched it with my dad in Minas Gerais. I prefer not to talk about it. I'm not even going to say the result.

Brazil must take advantage of having Neymar in his "best mode" at the World Cup, according to captain Thiago Silva.

Neymar heads to Qatar in supreme form. He has directly contributed to 26 goals for Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 15 and setting up a further 11 this season.

His tally of goal involvements is the joint-most in the top-five European leagues, along with Erling Haaland (23 goals, three assists) and club-mate Lionel Messi (12 goals, 14 assists).

With 75 international goals to his name, Neymar needs just three more to overtake Pele and become Brazil's all-time leading scorer.

Neymar's injury in the quarter-finals of Brazil's home world cup in 2014 is often cited as a major factor in the 7-1 thrashing to Germany that followed in the last four, while he struggled to carry the team in Russia four years later, with the Selecao losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals.

But with Vinicius Junior, Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus, Rodrygo and Raphinha supporting Neymar in attack, Silva believes Brazil have to make their attacking quality count.

"Neymar has a good level for this competition," Silva said in a press conference ahead of Brazil's clash with Serbia on Thursday.

"Now, without injury or worry, we see a better Neymar. Best of all, he is humble.

"Our group has welcomed all of our colleagues and in my opinion they will make Neymar even more at ease.

"We will share our responsibilities as players and that will help us move forward. I think we need to take advantage of this best Neymar mode."

It has been 20 years since Brazil won their fifth World Cup, and Silva – who was captain in 2014 but not in Russia – believes that only serves as extra inspiration.

"The 2002 win is a great inspiration for all of us," he explained. "We have images of all the World Cups we have won and that’s a source of inspiration and motivation so we can continue making history.

"We know it’s up to us. I know those who could lift the World Cup in the past have had beautiful stories. It makes me even more motivated to honour our jersey."

Silva believes the blend of youth and experience in Tite's squad is ideal, as the 38-year-old claimed his experience of captaining Brazil in their disappointing campaign on home soil has only benefitted his own development.

He said: "Nowadays I am better prepared. Sometimes we need to learn the hard way.

"Our coaches can tell us but in the end we are the ones who need to learn from our experiences. I am calm, I am at ease, having the trust of all my colleagues.

"I'm now enjoying the best version of Thiago Silva. I think I'm living the best moments of my career."

Brazil goalkeeper Ederson says the Selecao can only fulfil their World Cup dream if they have a "victorious mentality" over the coming weeks.

Tite's side are chasing a first success in football's most prestigious competition since 2002, with their campaign set to get underway on Thursday against Serbia in Group G.

Further challenges against Switzerland and Cameroon await them, as they look to end a two-decade wait at Qatar 2022, with many tagging them as the favourites.

But Manchester City stopper Ederson says any reputation will only be lived up to if they give it their all and keep their eyes on the prize.

"We know how difficult it is, but we have a good team with total capacity of reaching the final and trying to win it," he told his club's official website.

"We need to have this mentality, a victorious mentality. We need to think that we are going to be there, we will work to be there and that's what we'll do.

"A World Cup is a World Cup. When you talk about the World Cup, what comes into the mind of any player that can play it, is the image of him lifting the trophy - and it's no different to me.

"When I think about the World Cup, I imagine Brazil lifting the trophy."

Raphinha hopes Brazil will have reason to dance in celebration at the World Cup as he joked Tite's side have 10 routines rehearsed for goals.

Brazil are among the tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of their Group G opener on Thursday against Serbia as the Selecao aim for a first World Cup triumph since 2002.

Barcelona winger Raphinha was one of many to celebrate in support of Vinicius Junior, who was told in September by a Spanish journalist to stop dancing "to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey".

Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Richarlison – all members of Tite's 26-man squad in the Middle East – were other notable supporters of Brazil team-mate Vinicius.

Raphinha appears a likely contender to start for the five-time world champions and he intends to give Brazil further reason to celebrate in style at the World Cup.

"To tell you the truth, we already have dances prepared for up to the 10th goal," an upbeat Raphinha said on Monday.

"We have some 10 dances prepared for each match, one for the first, one for the second, one for the third ... If we score more than 10, then we'll have to start innovating."

Pedro, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli are the other attacking options at Tite's disposal and Raphinha has no doubts Brazil will go out to play free-flowing football.

"With Vinicius we gain more speed on the attack, while with [Lucas] Paqueta we have more control near the midfield," former Leeds United forward Raphinha added.

"But Brazil has a characteristic of always being offensive-minded, no matter who gets to play."

Richarlison, like Raphinha, will be a World Cup debutant for Brazil after scoring 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.

The Tottenham striker wants to produce performances befitting of the number-nine shirt handed to him as he aims to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Ronaldo Nazario.

"When you wear the number nine jersey with the Brazilian national team, all you want to do is score goals," Richarlison said. "With these team-mates, I'm sure the goals will come."

Neymar came into criticism for posting a photo with six stars on his shorts, referencing a hopeful Brazil triumph at the World Cup, but Richarlison has no problem admitting the Selecao's hopes.

"We are dreamers, we are going after this sixth star no matter what people are going to say," he added.

Richarlison says Brazil's players "will do everything" they can to win a record-extending sixth World Cup in Qatar.

Brazil are steeped in World Cup history, with more titles than any other country, though their fifth and most recent triumph came in 2002.

Tite's men head into the tournament in Qatar as one of the favourites having lost just one match since 2019, their Copa America final defeat to Argentina last year.

Richarlison will be playing in his first World Cup, having scored 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.

The 25-year-old says he and his team-mates will do all they can to bring home the trophy, telling Eurosport: "If we will win? I don't know, but we will do everything to win the World Cup.

"I prefer that we work in silence, doing our job and doing our best every day. Certainly, Professor Tite [head coach] will prepare us well for a great World Cup."

The Tottenham forward believes Brazil deserve to be among the most fancied teams and is confident they will make an impression in Qatar, saying: "I think there are a lot of good teams, but we are Brazil.

"We have a lot of history, we've never been out of the World Cup and we're going to the World Cup to honour the shirt. We're definitely going to get something good for us."

Despite his belief in Brazil's prospects, Richarlison acknowledged other sides he feels have a chance, adding: "There are a lot of good teams.

"The defending champions, France. Belgium, for example, and Argentina, which has a good squad and won the Copa America."

Brazil open their World Cup campaign against Serbia on Thursday, before facing Switzerland and Cameroon in Group G.