Former Brazil striker Zico believes his country is not strong enough to lift the World Cup next year, despite hosting the event.
On each occasion the tournament has been hosted in South America, a team from that continent has lifted the trophy and many pundits feel Brazil will be the team to beat next summer.
But Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men have not played a competitive fixture since July 2011 and friendly performances in recent times have been less than impressive.
They have won just two of their last seven fixtures, with one of those victories coming last week in a 3-0 home success over France.
But Zico, who played for his country in three World Cups in 1978, 82 and 86, is not expecting to see Brazil at the top of the world for a sixth time.
The 60-year-old told Fifa.com: “From what I’ve seen Brazil are still a little too exposed for my liking and they allow teams too much space. We’re not compact enough.”
Brazil will face Japan, who Zico used to coach, in their first Confederations Cup match on Saturday evening, as they look to get some competitive action under their belts.
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