Chelsea forward João Pedro is certain that Brazil’s attack will start to gel soon, as fans have expressed their disappointment with the team for their recent performances.
After a 2-1 friendly defeat to France last week, Brazil fans chanted the name of the absent Neymar, as they bemoaned the national team’s lack of goals.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti did field a strong attack with Barcelona’s Raphinha and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli playing in support of Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha.
“We’re getting to know each other better,” João Pedro, who came on in the second half against France, told ESPN Brasil.
“I play in England, Vini plays in Spain, and Raphinha is at another club. We need to be training together just as we do at our clubs, where we spend the whole year. With the national team, you do things differently to how you do them at your club, so you need to adapt quickly.
“With more training time, things start to run more smoothly. Things will start to click soon enough.”
Brazil have been without Neymar, their all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, since Oct. 2023 when he tore his ACL while on international duty.
He has struggled to rediscover his best form with Santos and Ancelotti has not selected him as a result. Standout performers in La Liga, Vinícius and Raphinha, have not been at the their best for Brazil.
Vinícius has only scored eight goals in 46 appearances for Brazil while Raphinha has 11 goals in 36 appearances.
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João Pedro, 24, believes the pressure that comes from not winning the World Cup in 24 years is preventing some of the star forwards from showcasing their true potential.
“Back in the day we had Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Romário, but if you look at football today, Brazil has players like that,” he said.
“There’s Vini at Real Madrid, Raphinha at Barcelona, me and Estêvão at Chelsea, and Andrey, too. They all play for top clubs.
“What is a bother is that it’s been a long time since Brazil won a World Cup. We’re the greatest national team in the world, and when you go without winning for a long time, that pressure builds up.”
With Raphinha now ruled out for five weeks with a hamstring problem, João Pedro, who has 14 goals and eight assists in 31 league appearances for Chelsea, is expected to start in Tuesday’s friendly against Croatia in Orlando.
The five-time world champions begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13.
