Raphinha hopes Brazil will have reason to dance in celebration at the World Cup as he joked Tite's side have 10 routines rehearsed for goals.

Brazil are among the tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of their Group G opener on Thursday against Serbia as the Selecao aim for a first World Cup triumph since 2002.

Barcelona winger Raphinha was one of many to celebrate in support of Vinicius Junior, who was told in September by a Spanish journalist to stop dancing "to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey".

Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Richarlison – all members of Tite's 26-man squad in the Middle East – were other notable supporters of Brazil team-mate Vinicius.

Raphinha appears a likely contender to start for the five-time world champions and he intends to give Brazil further reason to celebrate in style at the World Cup.

"To tell you the truth, we already have dances prepared for up to the 10th goal," an upbeat Raphinha said on Monday.

"We have some 10 dances prepared for each match, one for the first, one for the second, one for the third ... If we score more than 10, then we'll have to start innovating."

Pedro, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli are the other attacking options at Tite's disposal and Raphinha has no doubts Brazil will go out to play free-flowing football.

"With Vinicius we gain more speed on the attack, while with [Lucas] Paqueta we have more control near the midfield," former Leeds United forward Raphinha added.

"But Brazil has a characteristic of always being offensive-minded, no matter who gets to play."

Richarlison, like Raphinha, will be a World Cup debutant for Brazil after scoring 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.

The Tottenham striker wants to produce performances befitting of the number-nine shirt handed to him as he aims to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Ronaldo Nazario.

"When you wear the number nine jersey with the Brazilian national team, all you want to do is score goals," Richarlison said. "With these team-mates, I'm sure the goals will come."

Neymar came into criticism for posting a photo with six stars on his shorts, referencing a hopeful Brazil triumph at the World Cup, but Richarlison has no problem admitting the Selecao's hopes.

"We are dreamers, we are going after this sixth star no matter what people are going to say," he added.

Richarlison says Brazil's players "will do everything" they can to win a record-extending sixth World Cup in Qatar.

Brazil are steeped in World Cup history, with more titles than any other country, though their fifth and most recent triumph came in 2002.

Tite's men head into the tournament in Qatar as one of the favourites having lost just one match since 2019, their Copa America final defeat to Argentina last year.

Richarlison will be playing in his first World Cup, having scored 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.

The 25-year-old says he and his team-mates will do all they can to bring home the trophy, telling Eurosport: "If we will win? I don't know, but we will do everything to win the World Cup.

"I prefer that we work in silence, doing our job and doing our best every day. Certainly, Professor Tite [head coach] will prepare us well for a great World Cup."

The Tottenham forward believes Brazil deserve to be among the most fancied teams and is confident they will make an impression in Qatar, saying: "I think there are a lot of good teams, but we are Brazil.

"We have a lot of history, we've never been out of the World Cup and we're going to the World Cup to honour the shirt. We're definitely going to get something good for us."

Despite his belief in Brazil's prospects, Richarlison acknowledged other sides he feels have a chance, adding: "There are a lot of good teams.

"The defending champions, France. Belgium, for example, and Argentina, which has a good squad and won the Copa America."

Brazil open their World Cup campaign against Serbia on Thursday, before facing Switzerland and Cameroon in Group G.

Richarlison could make his Tottenham return in Wednesday's EFL Cup trip to Nottingham Forest after recovering from a calf injury, Spurs' assistant coach Cristian Stellini has confirmed.

Richarlison suffered the injury in Tottenham's 2-0 win over his former club Everton last month and subsequently said he was worried about missing Brazil's World Cup campaign.

However, the forward was included in Tite's 26-man squad for the Selecao's campaign in Qatar on Monday, and he could feature at the City Ground after returning to training this week.

"Richarlison started training with the team yesterday," Stellini said on Tuesday. "For us, it's great news.

"We've missed Richarlison, like we've missed [Dejan] Kulusevski and everyone we've missed in this last month.

"He's only just started to train with us, we can use him, but we have to be careful, and we work day by day to take the right decision."

Spurs have battled an injury crisis in recent weeks, only welcoming Kulusevski back from a hamstring injury on Sunday, while Son Heung-min sustained a fracture around his left eye last week.

Stellini warned of the need to manage players' minutes as the end of a congested pre-World Cup schedule nears, adding: "Antonio [Conte] will take the decision tomorrow for the squad.

"It's not only Richarlison or Kulusevski, but also, we've played 11 matches [since October 1] and many players maybe have a small problem or fatigue to recover [from].

"Kulusevski came back in the last match and has been an important player for us for a long time. We are really happy to use him again. 

"He's an important player, like all the players we have, because in this type of schedule, full of matches, all the players are important."

Antonio Conte is worried Dejan Kulusevski may not feature for Tottenham before the World Cup after the winger suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Kulusevski has not featured for Spurs since last month's 6-2 thrashing of Leicester City, having sustained the injury while on international duty with Sweden – who failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar.

While the form of Richarlison initially allowed Spurs to cope with Kulusevski's absence, the Brazil attacker limped out of a 2-0 win over his former club Everton last week, leaving Conte short on forward options.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with Newcastle United, Conte said of Kulusevski: "I think we have to wait a bit of time to see him with us, it is the same for Richarlison.

"For sure, this type of situation creates a big, big difficulty. It's normal. For me, also fingers crossed because at the moment we have Harry [Kane] and Sonny [Son Heung-min] in good health.

"I hope they continue to stay that way, or I'll have to think about putting my shoes on to play, me!

"When you go to play Champions League, especially if you play in the Premier League, you have to know that you're going to have a difficult season for injuries, for massive games, for players who become tired."

Asked whether he is concerned Kulusevski may not recover before the Premier League breaks for the World Cup next month, Conte said: "Yes, because his recovery was going well and then one day the situation worsened.

"Then when this type of situation happens, you have to restart. You need time, but we have the medical department to face injury situations, and they have to solve the situation in a short period. If you are able to solve the situation in a short period, it means points in the table."

Tottenham have lost two of their last four Premier League games (W2), suffering as many defeats in that spell as they did in their previous 21 matches in the competition.

Wednesday's 2-0 reverse at Manchester United represented the first time Spurs have failed to score in a Premier League game this season, and led Conte to declare the two sides were operating on "different levels".

Asked whether Tottenham needed to sign another creative presence in the January transfer window, Conte said the club would assess their options during the World Cup break.

"Now, we have to try to finish this period, which for us is really tough," the Italian added. "You have important injuries and you have to face the situation in the best possible way. 

"Then we'll see. We have to arrive until the last game in November and then with the club we'll see the situation, if we have to do something or we continue in the same way."

Antonio Conte allayed fears of Richarlison missing the World Cup, but confirmed he will not be available for Tottenham's game with Manchester United on Wednesday.

Richarlison suffered a calf injury in Spurs' 2-0 victory over his former team Everton and was taken off in the 52nd minute before later being seen on crutches, causing concern he could face a race against time to be fit for Brazil's World Cup opener against Serbia on November 24.

In a tearful interview after the game, Richarlison told ESPN Brazil: "It's kind of hard to say because it's close to the realisation of my dream."

But when questioned over Richarlison potentially missing the World Cup, Conte had an optimistic message.

"The injury of Richarlison, he's [having] a scan and then we will see how long he needs to recover," Conte told reporters. "But for sure against United, he's not available.

"I can confirm that the player is not risking not playing the World Cup, absolutely."

Conte was unsure whether Richarlison's fellow forward Dejan Kulusevski would be fit for Wednesday's game at Old Trafford, after the Sweden international missed the Everton match with a hamstring injury.

"Kulusevski is working, we'll see," Conte added. "We have to go day by day with him.

"The medical department are working a lot to try to recover him, but we don't know about the game against United."

Tottenham forward Richarlison tearfully admitted he fears the injury sustained in Saturday's win over Everton could crush his dream of representing Brazil at the World Cup.

Richarlison was substituted early on in the second half of Spurs' 2-0 Premier League victory against his former side Everton at Goodison Park with a calf injury.

The 25-year-old left the stadium on crutches and will undergo an MRI scan on Monday, but he has already been ruled out of Wednesday's trip to Manchester United.

He missed a month of action last season with a similar injury and is now worried about a comparable lay-off, with Brazil facing Serbia in their tournament opener on November 24.

"It's so close to the realisation of my dream," he told ESPN Brasil with tears in his eyes. "I've already suffered a similar injury to this, but I hope it can heal as soon as possible.

"It's hard to talk at this moment, but let's see, I hope to recover. Monday, I have tests to do, but even walking hurts. Let's wait. I have to stay positive if I want to go to Qatar.

"It's all so close, it's about a month to go, and we've been getting ready, working every day so that nothing serious can happen. 

"Unfortunately, I had this calf injury, but now it's just a matter of waiting, doing the treatment every day so that I can recover as soon as possible."

Richarlison has scored just twice in 13 appearances since joining Tottenham from Everton, both of those goals coming against Marseille in the Champions League.

He has been capped 38 times for Brazil and has scored seven times in six appearances this year, making him a certainty to be named in the squad if fit.

Brazil boss Tite, spoiled for options in attack, has until November 14 to name his final 26-man squad – though most competing nations are expected to do so much before then.

Record five-time champions Brazil follow up their opener against Serbia with group games against Switzerland and Cameroon on November 28 and December 2 respectively.

Harry Kane has paid his respects to "truly remarkable man" Gian Piero Ventrone following the Tottenham fitness coach's death.

Tottenham confirmed on Thursday that Ventrone, who joined the club last November as part of Antonio Conte's backroom staff, had passed away.

Ventrone was nicknamed 'The Marine' because of his tough training sessions, yet he was well respected by Tottenham's players.

Kane was among those to pay tribute to Ventrone on social media, saying he will forever be grateful for the advice received from the Italian.

"A truly remarkable man. I'm devastated by the passing of our coach Gian Piero," Kane posted. "My love and strength is with his family at this time. 

"His words and wisdom will live on with me for the rest of my life and I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to spend time with him. RIP Prof."

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Ventrone died on Thursday in Naples at the age of 62 after a battle with leukaemia.

Ventrone spent a decade at Juventus and also worked for Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and Ajaccio, prior to reuniting with Conte in north London.

He was credited with helping to drive a radical improvement in the Tottenham players' fitness, with forward Richarlison among those to benefit following his arrival from Everton.

"Since I arrived at Tottenham, Gian has been a huge inspiration to me," the Brazil international said. "He always said that I would help him a lot during the season.

"But who helped me was him... much more than he can imagine. Today we woke up to the terrible news of his passing and we are all devastated.

"We will continue to play for you, my friend, who taught us to never give up! Thank you so much and rest in peace!"

Ventrone had two stints at Juventus between 1996 and 1999 and 2001 and 2004, helping to shape the side that won the Champions League in the first of those spells.

The Italian giants paid their own tribute on Thursday in a statement on their official website.

The statement read: "We will always remember his attention to detail, his work philosophy, and perhaps his greatest talent, the understanding that football – and especially the fundamental components of conditioning and athleticism – was gradually entering a new era.

"A new era that, in part, he helped write."

Mikel Arteta expects Arsenal to benefit from Gabriel Jesus' absence from the Brazil squad as he hopes to show Tite what he is missing before the World Cup.

Arsenal are top of the Premier League ahead of the north London derby against Tottenham on Saturday, but none of their three senior Brazilian stars were called up by the Selecao last month.

Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus had all been part of Tite's squad during the previous international window in June.

Yet they now face a race against time to prove themselves before Qatar 2022, which kicks off next month.

Jesus was a particularly surprising omission, having scored four goals and assisted another three in seven league appearances since joining Arsenal in July.

But Arteta revealed a determined response from his number nine, telling reporters of Jesus: "He's incredibly humble.

"He accepted the decision and the way he trained, it was just: 'Okay, I need to improve. I need to get better. I need to do more. I really want to be there [at the World Cup], it's a big aspiration for me, it's an incredible opportunity. And I'm in the right place to do that.'

"So, I think we will see that on the pitch again."

At international level, Jesus appears to be in direct competition with Spurs striker Richarlison, who has hit form at the right time with seven goals in his past six outings for Brazil.

Jesus is set to come up against him this weekend, but Arteta says his striker cannot be concerned by how others fare.

"He can only control what he can do. He cannot control what other players do," the Arsenal manager said. "And he's only focusing on that.

"So, he has ambition. We know that he plays with incredible commitment. And [on Saturday] he will play that way."

Former Liverpool and England striker Emile Heskey has questioned whether football is ever going to "move forward" in dealing with racism.

After scoring for Brazil in a 5-1 win over Tunisia at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday, Tottenham forward Richarlison had a banana thrown on the pitch in front of him from the stands.

The player expressed outrage after the game and called for stiff punishments to be imposed, though appeared to doubt strong action would be taken.

Spurs team-mate Harry Kane and former England captain Rio Ferdinand offered their support, while Richarlison's club boss Antonio Conte said on Thursday there must be heavy sanctions, saying: "For sure I hope these people are banned from football for the rest of their lives."

In an interview with Stats Perform, Heskey was also not sure any punishment handed out would be enough, and raised wider concerns about how racism is dealt with by the football authorities.

"It's a tough one for me to really discuss because we still haven't moved forward," he said. "And are we going to move forward? That's the question I keep asking, are we going to move forward?

"We keep asking for certain things. We keep saying that we're getting better, and we've moved on. We're not going anywhere to be honest with you.

"They might get fined £5,000. Then I'll go and do something with betting and I'll get fined £100,000.

"The thing is priorities... It's not [treated as] a priority."

Heskey – who is the seventh top scorer in Premier League history with 516 goals – did concede that some progress is being made as racism is at least discussed more openly now compared to previous years, but does not feel enough is actively being done to deal with it.

"It's sad because I've got kids playing... they could still be going through what their grandparents went through and that's 50 years apart," he added.

"Are we getting anywhere? We are because we are discussing it. When my grandparents were going through it, we weren't discussing it. Now we're discussing it, which is great.

"But we've got no action. No call to action. Nothing."

Antonio Conte wants a lifelong ban from football to be imposed on the supporter who threw a banana at Richarlison while the Tottenham striker was on Brazil duty.

The apparent act of racist abuse came as Richarlison celebrated scoring in a 5-1 win over Tunisia at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday.

Richarlison expressed outrage after the game and called for stiff punishments to be imposed, while appearing to doubt such strong action would be taken.

The likes of his Spurs team-mate Harry Kane and former England captain Rio Ferdinand have offered their support, demanding action is taken, and now Tottenham boss Conte says there must be heavy sanctions.

"I think we have to take the good part of the situation. Richy played with the national team, scored goals," Conte said.

"Then what happened is incredible because in 2022 to witness this type of situation is embarrassing for everybody.

"For sure I hope these people are banned from football for the rest of their lives.

"It's a very disappointing situation to have to make a comment on this. I want to take the best part of the game from Richy. He scored goals and he enjoyed playing with Brazil."

Tottenham said in a statement on Wednesday the club were "disgusted" by the abuse, adding: "This has no place in football, or anywhere. We stand with you, Richy."

Harry Kane said the racist abuse that Tottenham team-mate Richarlison faced this week was "unacceptable" as he called on FIFA to ensure "the right consequences" happen.

The Brazil forward had a banana thrown at him while celebrating a goal with team-mates during the Selecao's 5-1 friendly win over Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday.

Richarlison used social media afterwards to appeal for strong punishment, while others including former England defender Rio Ferdinand have come out in support.

Now Kane has added his voice to pleas for the world governing body to get tough on racism, and backed his club-mate.

"It was very disappointing to see," Kane told ESPN Brasil. "I haven't seen [Richarlison] and had a chance to talk about the racism that he suffered against Tunisia.

"I think FIFA have said they are going to investigate and find out what happened, but normally, that kind of thing is unacceptable."

Kane, captain of England, added: "I think we're doing all as much as we can do as players to kick out [racism] as much as possible. I hope FIFA can be strong and find out who done it, making sure the right consequences are made."

Kane further vouched for Richarlison's personal attributes, saying: "He's a great guy. He works really hard and is really professional. I'm really happy to have him in our team."

Rio Ferdinand called on football federations to take more action against racism after a banana was thrown at Richarlison during Brazil's 5-1 friendly victory over Tunisia on Tuesday.

A banana appeared to land near Richarlison as the Tottenham forward celebrated scoring Brazil's second goal near the corner flag at Parc des Princes in Paris.

The incident comes after Vinicius Junior, Richarlison's international team-mate, was told by a Spanish agent to "stop playing the monkey" in relation to his goal celebrations.

Richarlison himself received criticism last month when he started doing kick-ups late in Spurs' 2-0 away win at Nottingham Forest.

And former England international Ferdinand believes it is wrong that, in his view, Richarlison received as much condemnation for his showboating against Forest as Tuesday's incident with the banana has.

"You've got your own kids waking up and saying: 'Dad, have you seen that banana thrown on the pitch at Richarlison?' It's madness," Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel.

"There was probably as much vitriol and hysteria on social media and in the media in general as there were with this banana incident, racism incident, as there was when Richarlison was doing kick-ups."

The Manchester United legend also believes more should be done by footballing powers, adding: "I'm not saying football can change or cure racism because I would be an idiot to think that.

"Football can play a good part in highlighting issues and standing together, standing strong and standing unified to make the authorities and powers that be put things in place to protect people, but it ain't happening. It's disheartening.

"Another day racism is okay and welcomed in football. Look at the reaction to the stuff with Vinicius Jr. I don't see the federations coming out and absolutely backing these players and going absolutely against it or a big press conference being called and saying 'we ain't having this'."

Tottenham have offered their support to striker Richarlison, who was the subject of racist abuse while on international duty with Brazil.

A banana appeared to be thrown at Richarlison from the stands as he celebrated his goal in a 5-1 win over Tunisia at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

The Spurs man responded on social media, warning "it will continue like this" until such incidents are punished.

Richarlison has received the backing of his Brazil team-mates, and Tottenham added a message of support on Wednesday.

"We are disgusted by the racist abuse of Richarlison at last night's game between Brazil and Tunisia," the Premier League club posted on Twitter.

"This has no place in football, or anywhere. We stand with you, Richy."

Brazil defender Thiago Silva was "very sad" after team-mate Richarlison appeared to be subjected to racist abuse in a friendly win over Tunisia.

Video footage showed a banana being thrown at Richarlison as he celebrated scoring Brazil's second goal in Paris.

Silva previously played at the Parc des Princes – which hosted a large Tunisian contingent – with Paris Saint-Germain.

"It hurts me," the Chelsea defender said of the incident. "Frankly, I'm very sad. That's not football. Football is about supporting your team.

"Afterwards, on the field, we give our best for our team. But gestures like that [shown] on video, it's not good for football."

Discussing his return to Paris, Silva added: "It was good to come back to the Parc. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was against us. Normally, here, it is a good atmosphere for me, but today the public was against us.

"But it was good to come back here. I spent eight years, eight and a half years here – it was a good time to come back."

On the pitch, the Selecao enjoyed a dominant performance, with a brace from Raphinha, Richarlison's goal and a Neymar penalty securing a 4-1 half-time lead.

A first international goal for Flamengo striker Pedro concluded the 5-1 rout in the second half.

Neymar's goal, his 75th for Brazil, moved the forward within two of the Brazil record, held by legendary striker Pele.

"Neymar is incredible. He is a magician," Silva said. "Unfortunately, in the past years, he had very important injuries, but this year is different.

"He prepared a lot during the vacations. I was with him in Brazil, I saw him. I hope he can continue with this mentality [and] a good health to arrive well at the World Cup."

Brazil's Richarlison has urged for strong punishments to be issued to those found guilty of racial abuse, after having a banana thrown at him while on international duty.

The Tottenham forward scored the second of the game in Brazil's 5-1 victory over Tunisia in Paris but a comfortable win, the last international game before Brazil's World Cup campaign commences, was marred by the incident.

A banana was thrown as Richarlison celebrated his goal, his ninth in 20 appearances for the national side, which became the latest racist incident to impact Brazilian footballers.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr had suffered abuse from Atletico Madrid fans in his side's recent derby triumph, following on from quotes from a Spanish agent who told him to 'stop playing the monkey' in reference to his dancing celebration.

Both players received a flood of support following the jarring incidents but Richarlison has warned that things will not improve unless the widespread condemnation is followed up with punishments.

"As long as they say "blah blah blah" and don't punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and everywhere. No time bro!" he posted on Twitter.

Brazil's squad had lined-up ahead of the match to display an anti-racism banner which read: "Without our black players, we wouldn't have stars on our shirts".