Brazil World Cup winner Kaka believes his nation can lift the iconic trophy when the most anticipated sports tournament gets under way in Qatar this November.
In an exclusive chat with Gulf News at the Coca Cola Arena, where the World Cup trophy tour is kicking off its global in Dubai, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid attacking midfielder maintained that the Seleção can go all the way
He was just 20 years old when he won the World Cup at the 2002 event and now at 40 he has some wise words of advice for the many youngsters who will be representing their nations in the Middle East.
“The World Cup is something really special because you never know if you are going to be there,” says the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner. “If your country is going to be there the question is in what condition will the team be? It’s really special because it creates this amazing moment of a player’s career. So for the young players that have this opportunity I would advise them to just take advantage of that because it is unique.”
France are the current World Cup champions and Kaka believes Paris Saint-Germain’s 23-year-old star Kylian Mbappe will be a big threat in the tournament. “Mbappe has already won the tournament in 2018 and it is a great chance for him to play again at the World Cup and to try to win it again.”
In fact, Kaka, widely considered one of the best players of his generation, believes the European and South American teams will be the front runners to lift the coveted trophy. England have been tipped to go all the way just as they did at Euro 2020 but this time Italy will not be around to stop them from winning it.
You can never discount the Germans while and Argentina will be there or there abouts too but Kaka, who made his professional club debut at age 18 at Sao Paulo in 2001, feels there could be a giant-killer. “If we talk about favourites, then yes I believe it will be most of the European and South American teams. But in every World Cup there are always one or two nations that cause an upset so we will see who that is this time.”
Brazil have won the world Cup five times and will be gunning for a sixth title in Qatar.
