Philippe Coutinho believes Brazil is under more pressure to deal at this World Cup but that the squad aren’t worried about qualifying for the knock-out stages.
The ‘Selecao’ drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their opening group match which came as a shock to many who had pegged them as the pre-tournament favourites.
However, with two games left to play against Serbia and Costa Rica, four more points would arguably be enough for Brazil to progress but Coutinho and his team-mates don’t see their next match as a must-win.
He told reporters: “We haven’t spoken about [it being a must-win game]. We said after the last game we need to improve. All games are like a final, even more so in the World Cup.
“We need to take responsibility and our heads have to be in the right place. This game is important and we’re looking for three points.
“We spoke about the possibilities and the ways to qualify and points, we had a meeting about that but we take to the field aiming to win”.
Coutinho did warn against fans getting too far ahead of themselves though: “All games are difficult. Lots of fans think that because we are Brazil, we are going to win easily and score lots of goals.
“Today everyone is better prepared for a World Cup. That was the message we took from the first game. We need to be 110 per cent to win our matches”.