29 June,2018 04:24 PM IST | Moscow | Kashinath Bhattacharjee
Tite
"Muller Ciao, Kroos Ciao, ho-ho-ho-ho-ho," those were some of the chants here from Brazilian fans after South Korea beat reigning champions Germany and eliminated them in the first round of the World Cup on Wednesday. A couple of hours later, Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 to qualify for the Round of 16, but Brazilian fans were happier to give Germany a send-off rather than celebrate their success, given the humiliating 1-7 defeat the Samba boys had faced at the hands of the German four years ago.
Lucas a Brazilian fan, who hails from Belo Horizonte, the very city where the Selecao were embarrassed in the last edition of the World Cup, said he was keen to see Brazil play Germany in the next round this time. "It's a lucky escape for them [Germany]. We [Brazil] were looking for revenge, but they could not even beat South Korea," said Lucas.
The expectations from Neymar & Co are obviously sky high now, but coach Tite preferred to play down the pressure. "We don't live in expectations. We live in reality. There are expectations with this team because they played really well in the qualification. But this is World Cup," he said before admitting that his boys were getting better with every match: "This is a team that is growing stronger mentally. They are soaking in the pressure and performing well. We are evolving with every game."
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