The Fort Worth Press - Give Brazil the respect we deserve, says World Cup star Guimaraes

The Selecao won the last of their five titles in 2002 and have gone out in the quarter-finals four times in five World Cups since then.

Brazil come into this year's tournament in North America ranked sixth in the world and arguably lacking the kind of superstar names who have stood out in the past.

"Nobody else has five stars on their chest. We have great players who play for top teams, like Vini and Raphinha. We need to give our players the respect they deserve," Newcastle United midfielder Guimaraes told reporters at the Brazil team's base in New Jersey.

Carlo Ancelotti's side, who finished fifth in the 10-team South American qualifying group, 10 points behind first-placed Argentina, begin their World Cup bid against Morocco on Saturday at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.

They completed preparations for the tournament with back-to-back friendly wins, hammering Panama 6-2 in Rio de Janeiro and then defeating Egypt 2-1 in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.

"We couldn't be feeling better. We won and played well in the two friendly matches. We have another few days to work on things but we feel ready," said Guimaraes, who scored his team's opener against Egypt.

"Once the World Cup begins, everyone will forget what has happened before. Hopefully we can start with a victory, and that will give us something to build on."

Brazil will also play Haiti and Scotland in Group C and are currently waiting to see if Neymar will be able to play any part in their group games.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward, now 34, is currently playing for Santos in his homeland and has not been capped by his country since 2023.

Despite that, Ancelotti took a gamble by including Neymar in his squad, and he has since been hit by a calf problem.

Brazil have already been forced to make a change to their squad, with Roma full-back Wesley being ruled out of the tournament at the weekend due to a thigh injury.

He has been replaced by Ederson, the 26-year-old midfielder with Atalanta in Italy who is expected to join Manchester United after the World Cup.

"Playing at a World Cup is the apex of our careers as footballers. We hope Wesley recovers quickly," said Guimaraes.

C.M.Harper--TFWP