Andreas Pereira teases England with trophy 'gap' jibe ahead of Brazil Wembley clash
Pereira has been recalled to the Brazil squad for the first time since 2018 and will face Gareth Southgate's team at Wembley.
Andreas Pereira has fired a cheeky jibe at England by claiming the only 'gap' with Brazil is the wait for a major trophy.
The Fulham star will play for his country against Gareth Southgate and his Three Lions at Wembley this weekend, but they arrive having had a tough time recently, being knocked out in the quarter-finals in Qatar and losing their last three World Cup qualifiers. This leaves them in sixth place in the South American group.
Their new head coach, Dorival Junior, who took over in January, is starting a "new beginning" with a young team that's missing many big names. On the other hand, Southgate's England team, ranked third in the world, are among the favourites to win Euro 2024 this summer. It would be their first title since 1966. When asked about how to "close the gap" with the hosts, Fulham's midfielder Pereira cheekily pointed out that Brazil has won five World Cups and the Copa America in 2019, as well as the last two Olympic gold medals.
The former Manchester United star said: "About Brazil and England, we don't necessarily feel that there is a big, big gap.", reports the Mirror. "The last time Brazil won a tournament was fewer years ago than when England won a tournament. We could say there is a gap. But Brazil will always have big, big players and a big team. England as well. I think they have a lot of players that I think the Brazilian fans like. It is more the flair players - players like Rashford and Saka.
"We respect them and we know it is going to be a tough game but we are ready and we know what we are capable of. We want to win the game. We are Brazil. We always want to win everything."
In the past 15 months, there's been a lot of changes in the team. Coach Tite was let go after losing to Croatia on penalties and was replaced by Under-20 coach Ramon Menezes. Then Fernando Diniz took over temporarily as Brazil tried to get Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid. Dorival Junior, 61, was then chosen when talks with the Italian didn't work out. His job is to build a new team for this year's Copa America and the 2026 World Cup.
Neymar, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes, Casemiro, Alisson Becker, Ederson and Marquinhos are all injured while Pereira, who played for Dorival at Flamengo, has been called up for the first time since 2018. He added: "I think it is very exciting to be here. It is a big honour to be part of this Brazilian national team, especially in this new beginning. For me to come back after six years to the national team is massive. It is a dream come true. It is a special game for me for sure and my family."
Pereira got confirmation of his great current form on Sunday when he bumped into Gary Lineker and his family in an Italian restaurant on the Fulham Road. He continued: "When I saw him, I went to his table to say hello to him because I know he is a big legend in football. He just told me to keep going, that I was having a good season and I was a good footballer. That is a big compliment coming from such a big player like that."