Luiz Felipe Scolari: 'Neymar is in top three players in the world'

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes that Neymar is one of the top three players on the planet.

The Santos forward celebrated his 21st birthday on Tuesday and the former Chelsea manager said that he is in the top bracket of footballers in the world already, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

"Look at Neymar at 21. It's his birthday. Actually, it is the birthday of two of the three best players in the world, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo," Scolari told reporters ahead of their friendly with England on Wednesday.

"My role is to appreciate him, to show this great ability and appreciate that he is among our team and help him to develop even better.

"But, for me, it's no different for a 21-year-old Neymar or a 32-year-old Ronaldinho - I expect the same from them as everybody in my team."

The Selecao have stated their intentions to attack by naming their team ahead of the game.