Steven Naismith believes Scotland will be unfazed by the reputation and glamour of five-time World Cup winners Brazil.
The national team face Carlo Ancelotti’s star-spangled side in Miami pursuing a single point to progress and secure qualification for the last 32 for the first time in history.
A defeat by three or four goals would consign Steve Clarke’s team to an anxious wait to learn if they might still go through to the knockout stage as one of eight best third-place finishers.
Asked if the magnitude of the occasion or the yellow jerseys of Brazil might spook a tight-knit experienced squad of players, Naismith replied: “I don’t think it will, to be honest.
“These days, so many of the players are coming up against these type of players or are team-mates with them that they’re used to them. I don’t think Brazil will spook our players at all.”
Back in the country where they won their fourth World Cup in 1994, Brazil’s qualification for the finals proved a painful, fraught process.
They lost a home World Cup qualifier (to Argentina) for the first time and slipped to six defeats in 18 games on the way to finishing fifth in the South American table.
A calf injury has ruled Barcelona wide man Raphinha out for a fortnight. Seven players sat out training in total yesterday as Ancelotti tries to manage a squad perceived to be weaker than the teams of the past.
“The teams I watched growing up were all ready-made stars,” said Naismith, “but this one has players who are still progressing in their careers, like [Matheus] Cunha going to Man United – we’ve all seen what a threat he is.
“So they’ve got guys at the start of their cycle, but ultimately their attributes and potential are world class.
“Brazil is a special country in the way they play football, their morals of how it should be played.
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“They also have different threats, with guys like [Igor] Thiago as a target-man striker who’s happy to take the ball in.”
Still the world’s most expensive transfer of all time, Neymar is set to make his first appearance for Brazil since October 2023 against Scotland.
At the age of 34, injuries have taken their toll, curtailing the talisman’s game time. Naismith says Scotland will prepare to face a player at the peak of his physical powers.
“Messi’s 38 and he scored a hat-trick the other night, so age is just a number nowadays,” he said.
“Neymar is the kind of player who can do things all on his own, so you have to be prepared for that.
“But within their squad, they have a fair few options and so many styles that can hurt you. If you lose possession and lose your structure, they’ll punish you without a doubt.”
Criticised for failing to create more problems in attack – Scotland have mustered five shots on target in the last two games – Clarke and his coaching staff have worked hard in Charlotte to find a way to create greater attacking threat.
Scott McKenna is back in training after injury while Aaron Hickey is recovering from a minor ailment. Ben Gannon-Doak is an option to come back into the starting XI after Naismith acknowledged: “We probably need to play more forward passes.
“And in any game at the World Cup, you’re going to need to be better in possession.
“Morocco are a great team who are going to cause anyone problems, but in the main our defensive display was good and it’ll need to be similar on Wednesday because we’re up against another team with world-class players, many of whom have similar traits to the Moroccans.
“We managed to get a good result against Haiti, then the early goal against Morocco really set us back, but we’re going into the last game knowing what we need to do.
“I’ll repeat what I said last week – this would be the first squad to get through the group. I think they’d deserve to do it. I think we’ve got the players to do it. And I think we have the manager to do it.”
