Dorival Junior was mocked on social media for giving off Jurgen Klopp "vibes" as fans reacted to the Brazil manager's ambitious World Cup prediction.
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Brazil struggling to find their best formDorival made a bold World Cup claimVinicius also targeted by the Brazil fansWHAT HAPPENED?
The Selecao have been going through a rough patch since the 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the quarter-final stage. They tried to recover their lost glory in the 2024 Copa America but fell to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the last-eight.
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Although Rodrygo's stunner helped them sail past Ecuador in their latest World Cup qualifier, they looked lacklustre in attack, with star man Vinicius Junior once again failing to impress. Despite several mediocre performances, Brazil manager Dorival remains bullish about his team's chances in the 2026 World Cup and made a lofty claim in front of the media before facing Paraguay.
WHAT DORIVAL SAID
"We will be in the 2026 World Cup final. We will be finalists," Dorival claimed.
"You can film me while I’m saying this. I have no doubts. We will be there”.
Interestingly, Klopp made a similar observation after Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League final back in May 2022.
He asked: "Where's the final next year? Istanbul? Book the hotel.”
However, Liverpool lost to Real in the round of 16 the following season by a 6-2 aggregate scoreline, which killed Klopp's hopes of reaching another European final.
WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING
An X user, @BasheerTK_, was quick to pull up Klopp's quotes and wrote: "Same vibes 😭."
Meanwhile, @MissJasmine, lashed out and asked: "You have Vinicius Junior who contributes absolutely nothing to the national team and you want to reach finals?? Who’s going to carry the team there?"
Whereas, @kovacjosko, mocked Dorival and wrote: "Bro hasn't qualified yet he is talking about finalists 😂 Have shame with the type of mid-players you have you won't even make it through the group stage bookmark this tweet."
@Tripple____M said: "He has set himself up for cooking 😂😂".
And @KitungaDavid sent out a warning to Dorival: "Gone are the days when Brazil used to dominate the World Cup. With players like Neymar Jr in the team, you will never win the World Cup. Dorival Jr needs to rebuild Brazil's national team by incorporating young talents if he wishes to win the World Cup in the near future."