Football
André Linares, Lucas Borges and Paulo Cobos / ESPN.com.br 10y

Oscar at home in number 11

Neymar wanted it and, as he's the star of the team, it was he who took Brazil's number 10 shirt for the 2014 World Cup. Oscar, who was the standout performer in Thursday's opening match against Croatia, was the one who lost out on the legendary number -- but he still says that he plays the "number 10" role.

The midfielder puts forward his reasoning in an interview he gave to the official Chelsea website, his club in Europe for the last two seasons.

"I don't feel under pressure to be the 'number 10'. Recently I began to wear number 11, whilst playing in the number 10 role," said Oscar, who began the move that led to the national team's first goal against Croatia. The diminutive midfielder then went on to score the final goal in Brazil's 3-1 victory.

On Saturday, in Teresopolis, Oscar opened up about his role in the side when he appeared before a press conference for the first time during the World Cup.

"I don't have a preferred position. I like to set up the play, to steal the ball, to score goals. I like to win the match, no matter if I play as a midfielder, defensive midfielder, striker. I know how to play in many positions," confirmed the midfielder when asked which area on the field suited him the best.

He also explained the reason for his poor performance in the pre-World Cup friendlies against Panama and Serbia, compared to his brilliance in the World Cup opener.

"It may be that I was preoccupied with the birth of my daughter. But they were friendlies. The World Cup is another emotion, another thing altogether. My style of play is to slide tackle, attack, do everything I can to win." confirmed the number 11, who also explained his goal, a toe poke, that sealed the national team's 3-1 victory.

"It's a shot you decide upon at the time. It was the best way to shoot, to score the goal. It's used a lot by people who used to play futsal. I always used the toe poke. The majority of our team played futsal, and that's where they learned to shoot with the toe poke," he concluded.

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