Miguel Herrera has expressed his hope that the World Cup hosts falter during his side’s clash with the heavyweights in June, adding that the hosts’ star player Neymar lacks leadership experience.
In an interview with AFP, the outspoken Mexico coach said that five-times champions Brazil are the clear favourites to win Group A but that 22-year-old Neymar could feel the weight of comparisons with Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi.
“He is very young and he’s in the process of getting the chance of being Brazil’s number one player,” said Herrera.
“The pressure will be on Neymar because everybody is thinking that he could be Brazil’s main figure during the World Cup.”
“You can’t compare Neymar with Messi at the moment. I still see Messi way above,” said the 46-year-old.
Herrera wants Mexico to cause an upset in their game against Brazil by seizing on the pressure the home side could face in front of their fans.
“Where we can find a weak point is by taking the ball away from them a little bit, make time go by without letting them hurt us, and then people will become frustrated and demand more from them,” he said.
“The pressure could get to them.”
Mexico’s other opponents in Group A are Cameroon and Croatia.
