The Prague Post - Gabriel tells Brazil to turn the page against Haiti at World Cup

The five-time world champions drew 1-1 with Morocco to start their Group C campaign but will be heavily fancied to beat a Haiti side making their first appearance at the tournament since 1974.

"We know what we have to do. We know that we didn't have a good first match, but what we can expect from us is that we'll be really committed tomorrow and we're going to do our best to win," Gabriel told a pre-match news conference on Thursday.

"It wasn't the match we wanted (against Morocco), but this is in the past and we've learned from it."

Brazil have won all three previous meetings with Haiti, including a 7-1 victory at the 2016 Copa America Centenario in their only competitive clash.

"All matches are difficult regardless of who you're playing, there's no easy match," said Gabriel.

"We cannot make any mistakes. They're a physically strong team."

Coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed he would make changes to the line-up and sought to put the team's sluggish start into context.

"We're going to have some changes, but not huge changes, maybe some players who are better rested than others," said the Italian.

"Getting off to a good start is important in a World Cup, but the most important thing is that the team, rather than being perfect, has to be resilient."

He added: "You have to be resilient when things don't go well; you mustn't give up when things don't go well, and I think the team is resilient and will improve."

Despite the slow beginning and the continued absence of Neymar, who is still not ready to return from a calf injury, Ancelotti backed his squad's quality to shine through.

"The players' self-criticism was constructive, and we've been working hard over the last few days to put things right, and I believe we'll sort it out – sooner or later we'll sort it out," he said.

"I still believe this team will be competitive at the World Cup."

A.Stransky--TPP