Brazil get first look round World Cup final venue

BERLIN, June 12 (Reuters) Brazil today arrived for their first look round the Olympiastadion, where if predictions are correct they will be back on July 9 for the World Cup final.

Brazil, who get their Group F campaign under way against Croatia on Tuesday, are overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup for a sixth time.

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is a cautious man, however, and he is concerned about the strength of opposition in Europe.

''It will be very difficult to win a sixth World Cup,'' Parreira said at a news conference at the stadium after taking training today.

''The European teams are at home here. They just have to take a bike or a bus and they're here in Germany. They're in their own house.'' Brazil, in fact, are the only non-European team to have won the World Cup in Europe, back in 1958 in Sweden.

''The competition will be very tough...but if there's one team that can break this (sequence) it's Brazil.'' The coach, who led Brazil to their 1994 World Cup triumph, said the opening games of the 2006 tournament had shown how much work lies in store for the favourites.

''So far it's been what we were expecting,'' he said. ''The teams are very healthy and even when playing at three o'clock the flow has been very good.

''There's been nothing to be scared of in the tactics but the speed of play has been very high.'' Brazil go on to face Australia and Japan in Group F. The Australians beat Japan 3-1 in their game today.

REUTERS SY ND2328