Prediction: Brazil vs Qatar

Verdict: Neymar to score.

Best odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: William Hill

Brazil are revving up for Copa America, and the next step they take is a friendly game against Qatar on what will be dead of night between Wednesday and Thursday in Europe.

Brazil

There is rarely an international tournament involving Brazil which doesn’t have them listed among the favorites for the trophy, and this year’s Copa America is no exception. The fact that they’ve been eliminated before semifinals on previous three occasions has very little impact in that aspect, especially as they host the tournament this time around.

Head coach Tite and his men have had one surprising result since their World Cup defeat at the hands of Belgium – a 1-1 draw against Panama, while they won the other seven games they’ve played since the tournament in Russia.

Team News

The biggest story regarding the team at the moment is, of course, Neymar and the accusation of rape he is facing. The Paris Saint-Germain star has been stripped of captaincy, and his involvement in the Copa is under a huge cloud of doubt. However, he is likely to start in this game, along with Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho and Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, with Roberto Firmino enjoying some well-deserved rest after winning the Champions League with Liverpool.

Qatar

The level of football that is being played in Middle East has risen significantly over the last several years. Qatar have been chosen, somewhat controversially, to host the 2022 World Cup and have been investing heavily in the game, and the first tangible reward came in the form of the Asian Cup trophy earlier this year. They beat Japan in the final, much against the odds.

They face a tough group at the Copa: Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay. Brazil will certainly represent a good test for them before embarking on that mission.

Team News

Head coach Felix Sanchez says he intends to use Copa America as part of Qatar’s preparations for the World Cup, and most of the players that were involved in the Asian Cup campaign are likely to play key parts again.

Defender Al Rawi and forwards Afif and Ali will most probably start the game against Brazil.

Conclusion

Friendly games are never easy to predict, but if you feel you should give it a go, perhaps putting Neymar on the scoresheet would be the best call. He will certainly look to make his mark in response to everything that has been going on in his life off the pitch.

Verdict: Neymar to score.

Best odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: William Hill