The Brazilian coach Tite plans to test young players in the Copa America and the Olympic Games, with the goal of "winning the World Cup in Qatar" in 2022.
"Our project is to win the World Cup in Qatar" in 2022, Tite said in an interview with Diario AS from Spain.
In this perspective, the Brazilian coach wants to take advantage of the Copa America, which will be played from June 12th to July 12th in Argentina and Colombia, and the Tokyo Olympics, to train their young talents.
"For me, it is better for a young player to face a challenge like Belgium with more experience and practice," explained Tite, who does not hide that he had a hard time digesting his defeat against the Red Devils, 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
"I spent 15 days waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares. It hurts a lot," Tite said.
That's why, "without taking away the responsibility of playing a Copa America or Olympic Games, these two tournaments this year can serve as a platform to develop the youngest players within the national team with a focus on the World Cup," he explained.
Tite admits that some might criticize him for looking for excuses in case of not winning these competitions, but "that's not the case. When you are Brazil, the responsibility to win always exists. But what we need to understand is that there is a bigger goal, and that goal is to win in Qatar 2022."
"And for that, we need to have the players ready for a World Cup," insisted the Brazilian coach, who has praise for the young Brazilians from Real Madrid, Vinicius and Rodrygo.
"Rodrygo is essentially technical and intelligent. More refined. Vinicius is a winger, more focused on individual plays and less on combination, a dribbler," considered Tite.
The coach of the Canarinha also does not forget about Casemiro and Neymar, whom he considers pillars of the team.
"Neymar is the technical leader of Brazil. In crucial moments, everyone looks to him. Because he solves it," he said.
"Casemiro is the competitive leader. The tactical leader. He knows exactly the functions of the game and we only need a look to understand each other," Tite concluded. (D)