Brazil midfielder Oscar has said that he and his teammates still respect Spain despite La Roja’s hammering by the Netherlands.
The hosts got their World Cup off to a good start with a 3-1 win over Croatia and the teams that progress from Group A will meet their Group B counterparts.
That could pit Brazil against Spain if Brazil top their group and Spain finish as runners-up. Speaking at a Press conference, Oscar said the World Cup holders would be as difficult an opposition as ever.
“We must always respect Spain. I don’t see them at the end of a cycle,” AS reports the Chelsea man as saying.
“Spain had a chance in the first-half to kill the game and didn’t. Then Holland played very well and deserved the victory.”
Oscar was joined in front of reporters by Henrique, the former Barcelona centre-back, who insisted Spain were still in with a good chance of going through.
“Spain have great tradition and can move into the second phase,” the Napoli defender said.
“However, we have to focus on the match against Mexico. Then we’ll think about what’s next.
“So far, nothing has been decided between Chile, the Netherlands and Spain. They’d all be dangerous.”
