RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazil captain Neymar has rejected claims that the five-time World Cup champions are obliged to win this year's Copa America as competition hosts.
The world's oldest continental international football tournament will begin in Sao Paulo on June 14, less than a year after Brazil's World Cup quarterfinal loss to Belgium in Russia.
Also sure to be vivid in the players' memories is the last time Brazil hosted a major tournament in 2014, when the Selecao were dumped out of the World Cup with a 7-1 semifinal defeat to Germany.
"We're not obliged to win. Obviously the pressure increases because we are playing at home ... we have a great chance," Neymar told TV Globo.
Neymar is currently in Brazil as he continues his recovery from a right foot injury sustained while playing for Paris Saint-Germain in January. The 27-year-old will return to the French capital this week and is expected to be fit to play again in April.
****Brazil's forward Neymar reacts to their defeat at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup quarter-final football match between Brazil and Belgium at the Kazan Arena in Kazan on July 6, 2018.