World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Brazil will not win the trophy
It's less than two days before the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Russia. The greatest stage in world football awaits the superstars who shine so often with their respective clubs and they will be looking forward to setting the tournament on fire.
Brazil has been the most dominant team in the history of this huge global extravaganza. The Selecao have won five World Cups so far, more than any other team. Large credit for the success goes to the many wonderful footballers the country has produced down the years.
They will be looking forward to lifting the trophy for the sixth time, with the morale high in camp and football pundits around the world placing them among the favorites for this edition.
However irrespective of how good the team may be, there are some issues that still nag the team and may thwart their dreams of winning in Russia.
#1 Over reliance on Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Junior is undoubtedly the only true global footballing icon that Brazil has today. From playing in the streets of Sao Paulo to playing with high-profile clubs like Barcelona and Paris St. Germain, Neymar's career has been nothing short of a fairy tale.
The transfer amount of $263 million paid by PSG to Barcelona for his services, does speak a lot about his tremendous potential.
Neymar has already scored 55 goals for Brazil at an age of 26 and looks set to break Pele's long standing record of 77 goals in the next few years.
However the team is definitely over-reliant on Neymar and the responsibility of scoring decisive goals that seal the match for the Selecao falls on him.
The Brazilians were performing very well in the 2014 WC, but Neymar suffered an injury in the quarter-finals and Brazil were steam-rolled by Germany 7-1.
Neymar is central to Brazil's hope of winning this time as well, although the team has many star players.
Can Neymar ferry Brazil to the title?