Scolari wants Brazil ´to send a message´

Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has declared his team want to regain ‘credibility’ when they play Spain in the Confederations Cup final.

Scolari has challenged his team to ‘send a message’ to the rest of the world with victory over Spain; a team the 64-year-old Brazilian coach believes has ‘controlled football in the last six years’.

Sunday’s final at the Maracana will pit the reigning world and European champions against the hosts and Confederations Cup title-holders and Scolari has claimed Brazil have what it takes to overcome Spain.

“Spain have controlled football in the last six years and won all competitions,” Scolari said on Saturday.

“They have won two Euros (European Championships) and one World Cup.

“They have had continuity in their team in the last six years, only changing just one or two players every now and then.

“So they have some advantages over us but we have something that is important inside Brazil and that is to get the credibility back with all our supporters.

“Also we want to get what we dreamed and imagined at the start of the tournament, that was to go to the final and win it.

“So they do have some superiority but with our competency, strength and soul we can overcome, equalize and pass ahead of all of it they have.”

With less than a year until the opening game of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Scolari wants the hosts to prove they will be contenders at next year’s tournament by beating Vicente Del Bosque’s Spanish team.

“If we win we will have sent a message with our victory tomorrow to all the other teams,” Scolari said.

Meanwhile, Del Bosque has hinted he will choose the same starting line-up against Brazil as he did in the Confederations Cup semi-final versus Italy.

In the lead-up to Sunday’s final, there has been plenty of speculation Del Bosque would bring in some fresh players after Spain needed extra time and penalties to eliminate Italy but the 62-year-old Spanish coach has all but ruled that out.

Del Bosque also paid tribute to Brazil, who had not played a competitive game in almost two years before the Confederations Cup began earlier this month.

“Brazil have not been playing official qualifying matches lately but they been playing some very good friendly matches against difficult rivals and in this Confederations Cup, from the beginning to the end, they have improved,” Del Bosque said.

“I think they are in very good form now.

“As for the players who will play tomorrow, I can only say that I don’t think there won’t be any changes from the match against Italy.”