"Come on lads. Group cry."
To the tune of (We are Sailing) by Rod Stewart:
“No one likes us. No one likes us.
No one likes us. We don’t care.
We are Bra-zil. We are Bra-zil.
We are Bra-zil. From Ri-o.”
Once the final, elongated vowels of Osório Duque-Estrada’s anthem bellow out at the Estádio Mineirão tonight and hairs on necks return to their normal shape, the reality that Brazil are in a dog fight will sink in. A siege mentality that had already been constructed around the Seleccão after the first wobbly group games has been reinforced to the extent that one would be forgiven for thinking Brazil had been underdogs all along. The injury to Neymar and, to a lesser extent, the suspension of Thiago Silva adds further fuel to this particular fire.