Sydney: Brazilian great Pele has warned Brazil not to take Guus Hiddink's Australian team for granted in their group match at this year's World Cup finals in Germany.
The Brazilian three-time World Cup winner, rated by many as the world's greatest ever footballer, warned Brazil to heed the fate of France as defending champions at the last World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
The 65-year-old who scored 1,281 goals from 1,363 matches in his fabulous career, including 77 goals in 92 internationals, shied away at a press conference at Sydney on Thursday about which two teams from Group F would progress to the knockout second round.
"Brazil is good, no doubt, four months before the World Cup they are the best team," Pele said.
"Brazil has two players in each position who are very good. But in the World Cup, sometimes it takes just one game for you to go out. In 1982 Brazil was the best team in the first round, then they lost and went out their next game," he said.
"The last World Cup, everybody said France were the champions of the world, champions of Europe, they were the best team. But they went out in the first round," he added.
Hiddink, who has taken the Netherlands and South Korea to the semi-finals of the last two World Cup finals, has foreshadowed that Australia will not sit back and play defensively in Germany.
The Dutch coach said the Socceroos will adopt a possession-based strategy and take the game to the opposition.
But Pele cautioned Australia, playing in their first World Cup finals for 32 years in June, from attacking at all cost in this year's finals.
"So many games now... teams are very, very careful - even Brazil," he said.
"I don't expect this World Cup to be all about attack... that's the reason I think it's not a good idea for Australia to come and play too forward.
"I don't think it's a good idea the way football is today."
Australia open its World Cup campaign against Japan on June 12 in Germany, before meeting Brazil on June 18 and Croatia on June 23 in the group stage.
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