Martinez wary of Brazil’s World Cup pedigree

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said on Thursday he was excited by the challenge of facing the most famous yellow shirts in football but underlined the gulf in World Cup pedigree between the two sides.

Brazil and Belgium meet in a quarterfinal in Kazan on Friday where Brazil coach Tite expects “a great game of football”.

But when it comes to comparing achievements, Brazil are way out in front – a fact Martinez was quick to underline as he laid bare how his players could shock the five-time World Cup winners.

“The two sides are very similar in terms of the qualities we have,” said Martinez. “The difference is, we haven’t won a World Cup. It’s as simple as that.

“They know how to win World Cups, they’ve done it more than any other nation so they have that psychological barrier out of the way.

“When we see the colour yellow, we’re very proud. We’re going to be very excited to see Brazil in front of us.

“Of course we want to win and we’re going to try to win. The most important aspect tomorrow is our chance to play in the quarterfinal.

“We want to enjoy our game.”

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