BRASILIA, Brazil (AP):

Brazil will be playing for more than a victory when they face Japan in the Confederations Cup opener on Saturday.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said yesterday that winning the first match will be crucial to winning the support of demanding home fans and to put the squad on the right track for its fourth title in the World Cup warm-up tournament.

"It's fundamental to win this match, and that's what I've been telling the players." Scolari said.

"We need to have the fans on our side, so it's important we get off to a good start."

Brazil hasn't won a significant, title since the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa and home fans have criticised and jeered the national team following a series of poor results recently.

"We need to take advantage of the home fans, and to do that, we need to play well," Scolari said.

"Our team is not fully ready yet, and we know it's not going to be easy, but we need to work hard to keep the fans on our side."

Scolari led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title, but has endured disappointing results in the seven matches he coached since returning to the national team in December. Brazil are coming off a convincing 3-0 win over France in their final warm-up, but had won only one of six matches until then, against Bolivia.

Scolari and the Brazilian players were loudly jeered and booed by nearly 50,000 home fans after a 2-2 draw in a friendly against Chile in April.

Neymar is carrying Brazil's hopes, but he has struggled with the national team so far, failing to replicate the success that he had with Brazilian club Santos before joining Barcelona.

He scored three of his 20 goals with Brazil this year, but he hasn't found the net in nine straight matches, including some with Santos before the Barcelona transfer. If he fails to score against Japan today, it will mark his longest career run without a goal.