Tuesday, 3rd June, 2014
Brazil striker Hulk believes his nation’s group stage matches in the upcoming World Cup are going to be tough encounters.
The host country are placed in Group A of the showpiece event along with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon.
And Hulk, who scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists for Zenit St. Petersburg this term, feels Brazil will find it hard in the group stage games as the other teams are likely to play defensively against his nation.
“First and foremost, they’re all very difficult games,” he told FIFA’s official site.
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“Not just because they’re great teams with very good players, but also because as they’ll be facing Brazil at home, they’re likely to play quite defensively.”
In order to counter their rivals’ defensive ploys, the 27-year-old wants the Selecao to put in similar displays to that produced in the Confederations Cup last year when they scored early goals to put their opponents under pressure.
“So, when gaps do open up, we’re going to have to take full advantage. That was the case at the Confederations Cup, when we were almost always able to grab an early goal – which proved incredibly important,” he added.
“It helped us forge our identity even further: that of us pressing opponents high up the pitch right from the start of games.”
Brazil will start their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 12th June before facing Mexico five days later.
The South American nation will then come up against Cameroon for their final group stage game on 23rd June.
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