Brazil, Portugal launch group campaigns today

Hot favourites Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will start their World Cup campaign on Thursday against Serbia and Ghana respectively. Brazil vs Serbia match is scheduled to start at 1am BST (Friday) while Portugal will take on Ghana at 10pm BST.

The Selecao arrived in Qatar as number one in the FIFA rankings and their captain Thiago Silva said that “we are ready to do a great World Cup”.

The veteran defender Silva said, “We truly believe in everything we have done up to today and are about to make our first appearance in the World Cup in a very favourable position, in the sense of being well in all ways.

“What I can tell the Brazil fans is please believe in us – rest assured that we are ready to do a great World Cup. It is obvious the title is still very far away, but we can dream on and that is what we do every day.”

Brazil booked their place in World Cup with the highest points of the South American CONMEBOL while Portugal had to go through a lot of difficulties to qualify for this mega event. However, it will not be easy for Ghana to snatch the victory away from the European team.

After Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan, the Portuguese international and his club Manchester United parted ways. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was a surprise attendee at a press conference on Monday.

“The atmosphere is excellent, no problems, we are completely focused,” Ronaldo was quoted by The Daily Telegraph.

“You can help by not talking about me. I’m completely bulletproof and iron-clad. If you ask other players about Cristiano Ronaldo, I would be upset. If you want to ask him about the World Cup and the team, I would like you to do that.”