Kaka: Brazil can win World Cup 2022 inspired by former Al Ain manager Tite

World Cup winner Kaka says current Brazil manager Tite could be the key to his country securing a sixth global title later this year.

The five-time world champions have not lifted the game’s showpiece trophy in two decades, when Kaka was a member of the 2002 winning squad. In fact, Brazil's best performance since then was in 2014, when they reached the semi-finals on home territory.

Nevertheless, Fifa's current No 1-ranked side go into World Cup 2022 in Qatar as one of the favourites, having in March finished top of South American qualification. Brazil remained unbeaten throughout, winning 14 of their 17 matches.

Tite, the former Al Ain and Al Wahda manager, has been in charge since 2016, leading his national team to success at the 2019 Copa America. He has already managed Brazil at a World Cup, too, although his side exited the 2018 tournament in Russia at the quarter-final stage following defeat to Belgium.

Speaking in Dubai on Thursday having helped launch the Fifa World Cup trophy tour at the Coca-Cola Arena, the now-retired Kaka told The National: “Brazil will be one of the favourites to win the World Cup again. We have a very good team, very good players, and one thing that is really important for me, is that they kept the coach for a long period.

“He was at the last World Cup, where Brazil lost against Belgium, but the federation kept Tite for another World Cup cycle. And that for me is the key. Because he had four years to prepare the team, to see different players, try a lot of things, and now he knows all the players, knows which players he can count on in the right moment, in the special moment like the World Cup.

The UAE's Harib Abdullah celebrates scoring the only goal of the game against South Korea in the