Brazil's Cunha hopes to surf the wave to unexpected World Cup glory
· Yahoo Sports
Brazil forward Matheus Cunha has explained his surfing celebration after scoring twice in the 3-0 World Cup win over Haiti on Friday.
"Surfing has become a big part of my life, a way to relax," he told FIFA.com. "Surfing has become a part of my routine. I'd say I spend just as much time following surfing as I do football."
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Quite where the Manchester United man surfs in the famously rainy north-west of England is not clear. But his celebration in the sunshine certainly fits the image of a Surfin' USA.
What does not fit though is his comments about just being happy to be at the World Cup. Record five-times champions Brazil are not among the favourites given their 24-year drought and Cunha sounded like he had turned out for the underdogs against a now eliminated Haiti.
He told FIFA.com: “It’s one of the best days of my life. Everyone dreams of representing Brazil at a World Cup. And to think that I scored two goals, I helped the team.
"I’m in ecstasy, I must be dreaming."
In editions gone past, Brazil getting through the group stage and at least reaching the latter stages was seen as a given in the South American nation.
But the days of their squad being littered with household names such the triumphant 1970, 1994 and 2002 squads is long gone.
Now their team has more solid players from the likes of the English Premier League, with only Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior able to claim he is a world star given his FIFA Best men's player award from 2024.
A point against Scotland on Wednesday will send the Seleção to the last 32. If they fail to win the World Cup this year, the 2030 edition will mark their longest run without the men's trophy since their first success in 1958.