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Former Brazil midfielder Zico shared his expectations from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Neymar Jr. for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. He believes the Brazilian will be in his best form this year and is expected to help his nation to a sixth World Cup.
Selecao have won five World Cups, with their last triumph coming in 2002. The highest they reached after that was the semifinals in 2014, where they were hammered 7-1 by Germany.
However, they go into the upcoming edition of the tournament in Qatar with some of their players in peak form. One of them is PSG forward Neymar.
He has scored three goals and provided two assists in the past three matches for Brazil, albeit they were friendlies.
At club level, the former Barcelona man has registered 11 goals in as many games along with eight assists across all competitions this season.
Hence, it is understandable that Zico expects a lot from the 30-year-old and the Brazilian squad. He told GOAL:
"We have to be optimistic because all the Seleção players play in the biggest European clubs and they have all had success there. All the big clubs are looking to sign Brazilian players and have them in their squad."
He added:
"Real Madrid, who have won the Champions League the most times, have many Brazilian players in their ranks. That's why we have to trust these players for what they are going to do with the Seleção in Qatar."
As for Neymar, Zico said:
“All of Brazil expects a lot from Neymar for this World Cup. It seems that for the first time in his career he will be able to play a World Cup in his best physical and technical condition."
The PSG man will face Tunisia September 17 in what will be Brazil's final match before the World Cup commences in November.
PSG forward Neymar on breaking Pele's goalscoring record for Brazil
Pele is currently Selecao's all-time top goalscorer with 77 goals. Neymar is looking to break that record as he is currently on 74 goals.
He will have a great chance to do so at the World Cup. Speaking about the same, the PSG man told Telefoot:
"God willing ... I hope to get past him. I'm going to talk to my teammates about it and tell them to get me scored now, so I can finally get there."
Brazil have been grouped alongside Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon. They will face Serbia in their first match on November 24.
