Menezes closes in on ideal Brazil team

Brazil's 6-0 thumping of Iraq followed by Tuesday's 4-0 win over Japan have convinced Menezes that he is on the right track as he builds a side capable of not only winning the 2014 World Cup but doing so in a style home fans are demanding.

"We have been working towards finding the ideal national team," he told reporters after the 2014 hosts outclassed Japan in the Polish city of Wroclaw.

"We've hit a few obstacles on the way, but now are getting closer to what we have been hoping for.

"It's obvious that scoring 10 goals in two games is a lot, something out of the ordinary, but the important thing is what the team did to produce those goals.

"Those results are to the credit of the team that is taking shape."

Menezes took over at a point where Brazil's production line of world class players appeared to have dried up.

Although Brazil have won most of their games under Menezes, they were knocked out of last year's Copa America at the quarter-final stage, failed to win an Olympic gold and have lost high-profile friendlies to Mexico, Germany and Argentina.

"We have been working on this idea of leaving the team without a reference point for a long time. It hadn't really worked out but now we have midfielders who allow this," he said.

"We have three attacking technical players [Oscar, Kaka, Neymar], but you can't make a team just with players with those characteristics," he said.

"Hulk has physical power, he produces a different kind of threat and he compliments the other three."