Brazil’s talismanic 22 year-old forward Neymar has bullishly told the gathering press that the time is right for his country to step up and make a success of their hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which gets underway later today.
Ahead of the opening match in Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, Neymar said: “As Mr. Scolari has said, the time has arrived, that all Brazilians and I think the whole world was waiting for.”
“And we the players hope that the last day goes by very quickly. I am anxious, of course. But I’m also extremely happy of being where I am today.”
“So really I hope I can help my team in the best possible way to fulfil the dream of us Brazilians, the players, to win the World Cup.”
Brazil versus Croatia kicks off the tournament this evening at 2100GMT; follow our live text service for updates from an an hour before the action starts.
