Neymar: England Not a Threat at 2014 World Cup

Brazilian international Neymar has dismissed the possibility of England beating the South American giants in a friendly match. The two former FIFA World Cup winners face each other in Brazil, as part of the FA's attempts to get players used to local conditions; the 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil next summer.

"I have respect for a lot of the England players as they have achieved great things at their clubs. But, as a national team, I don't look at England and think they are going to be a real threat at the World Cup," the young striker declared.

"We want to win the World Cup in front of our home fans and the two nations I look at as a real threat are Germany and Spain. After that it's a group including Argentina, Holland, Italy and one or two more. But England I don't even think about," Neymar added.

The 21-year-old has confirmed a high-profile transfer to Barcelona for next season, for an undisclosed fee. The news brought an end to a long-running soap opera involving the player and Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Neymar also spoke about playing in the newly renovated and world-famous Estadio do Maracana.

"It's a big game for us on Sunday because we want to open the new stadium with a win. The most important thing is we impress the coach though. There are only 11 places in the team for the opening game at the World Cup and each player needs to prove to the coach he's worth being in one of those places," he explained.

Finally, the talented young forward spoke about signing for the Catalan giants.

"There was interest from teams in England and Spain, but my family spoke to me about joining a club where you could not just win things but where there's stability. I didn't want to play for a team that changed its coach every season," he concluded.