‘Brazil will be beaten up by criticisms from all sides’

Brazil star midfielder Philippe Coutinho admitted that he knows Brazil will be facing criticisms from all sides after their shock 2-1 defeat against Belgium in their quarter-final match of the tournament that saw the Selecao being eliminated from the World Cup 2018.

Brazil’s defence was exploited by swift counter-attacks by Belgium from the beginning of the game. When the referee blew the half-time whistle, Brazil were already down by two goals. However, Brazil came back stronger in the second half and pulled one back from a 76th minute header by Renato Augusto. But unfortunately, Tite’s men could not find an equalizer despite their repeated attempts at the Belgium goal.

It is obvious that such a shock fall-out from the tournament will result in a lot of criticisms for the Selecao. And according to a report from Goal.com, the Barcelona midfielder Coutinho is aware of that as he told SporTV that he will be ready for the backlash after their surprise exit from the World Cup.

“We wanted to go all the way to the final but we’ve given our best shot. Everyone gave everything,” Coutinho said.

“I’m sure will be beaten up by criticism from all sides. Life goes on, that's football. You win and you lose.

“We’re sad because we wanted to win badly, like all Brazil. Unfortunately, we couldn’t.” Coutinho concluded.     

Meanwhile, Brazil defender Miranda refused to say goodbye to international football but also did not confirm whether he will feature for the Selecao in the next World Cup.

“It’s hard to talk about it because all players here are part of a generation,” Miranda said.

“I won’t say goodbye, but I also won’t confirm that I'll be there for the next World Cup.” Miranda concluded.