Brazil coach Mario Menezes admits that his talented squad can’t emulate World and European Champions Spain. "I'm not trying to copy Spain, because I think that the system you play is dictated by the players you have,” Menezes tells La Marca. “You can't get up one morning and say I'm going to play like Spain, because it's impossible.

“We aren't on the same level as Spain,” he added. “Nobody has been able to play their own style of soccer against them. Every national team submits to Spain's style and changes their own style accordingly, because they're forced to. The ball control they've acquired is amazing. They've got it all and their style has brought them results.”

Menezes has one of the toughest jobs in soccer, as nothing less than winning the World Cup in 2014 will be acceptable to Brazil, particularly because the tournament is being hosted in his country. Of course, Brazil was unable to achieve that feat the last time the country hosted the World Cup in 1950, losing 2-1 in the final to bitter rival Uruguay.