Brazil winger Gabriel Martinelli is preparing for Scotland to “come out strong” in Wednesday’s World Cup showdown in Miami.
Steve Clarke’s men are still in the hunt to get out of the group phase for the first time in Scotland’s history, with a draw against the five-time world champions almost guaranteed to be enough to make progress.
Arsenal star Martinelli, who may force his way into the starting XI following an injury to Barcelona forward Raphinha, is well acquainted with many of Scotland’s star names and is braced for a test at the Hard Rock Stadium.
“It’s going to be a tough game, they have a lot of quality players,” he told reporters at the team’s training base in New Jersey.
“They have (John) McGinn, who we always face with Aston Villa, and (Andy) Robertson from Liverpool (now at Tottenham).
“They’ll definitely come out strong to try and beat us, but we’re training hard, it’s going to be a great game, I hope we can come away with the victory.”
Martinelli insisted Brazil’s focus was on winning the game in order to top the group and remain in the United States, with Group C’s winners playing in Houston on June 28.
“We definitely want to go to Miami and win the game to qualify in first place,” he said.
“Staying at the hotel here with all the amenities it offers is much better.
“If we qualify in second place, we have to go to Mexico, which changes the whole schedule. Our mentality is to win and stay here because of all the benefits we have here. The training centre is great, the hotel too, there’s a lot for us to do together. That’s definitely our mentality.”
