The Selecao and Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva admits the 2014 World Cup is a nightmare for him and many other defenders fighting for football's ultimate prize.
The tournament, which kicked off last Thursday, has seen a shocking goal tally, a whopping 41 goals registered in only 12 games, which more than doubles the 20 goals scored at this same stage in the 2010 competition.
However, the host nation's captain says it is something he must accept and confesses to working harder in training in order to “neutralize” opponents.
"You have to have a good defense, it makes it difficult for the opponents," the 29-year-old said to reporters.
"This is the World Cup for those who like goals, who like football. For a defender that’s not good, but it’s part of football. We worked well this week defensively to be able to neutralize our opponents.”
41 goals in 12 matches at the 2014 World Cup (this stat was before the 3 goals scored during the Ghana-USA encounter)
Number of goals after 12 games: World Cup 2010: 20. World Cup 2014: 41. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/elvWGVI1oE
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 16, 2014
"We have players who are ready and the front two score goals."
Silva also praised new Les Parisiens signing Davi Luiz, saying: "[David] Luiz is a player who makes us feel at ease. Aside from marking very well, he’s technically very strong and that makes us feel at ease. And that makes it easy for us to go out well with the ball."
WELCOME TO PSG: Silva praises his Ligue 1 side's new signing, campatriot David Luiz
Scolari's men take on Mexico on Tuesday and the Selecao skipper discussed the prospect of facing their group A competitors in what would be a repeat of the 2012 Olympics final in London which ended in a 2-1 loss to El Tri.
"They’re top quality players," he insisted. "I’ve played against them many times, especially at the Olympics. Unfortunately we lost [in the final] that day.”
"Giovani [Dos Santos] and [Oribe] Peralta can decide a match in seconds, so we have to pay attention to their offensive actions."
Can Brazil get revenge for their disappointing Olympics finals loss to Mexico?
