When your national football team is in the round of 8 of a World Cup after winning four matches, scoring ten goals and suffering only one, you consider yourself satisfied, right? Wrong.

With a squad that resembles a whos who of footballing royalty, expectation was high for the teams performance in the World Cup. But Brazil's national football team has not even begun to play well in the World Cup, according to Brazilian supporters.

We heard so much about the magic square before the Cup, but we have not really seen it work yet, said Galvao Bueno, main football speaker for Brazils major TV channel Globo. The only thing that has really worked in the team was defense. Juan and Lucio have been doing a great job, he added. Fear of another major failure has led to discouragement and confusion. The "Sarria tragedy," so named for the Spanish stadium where, in 1982, the glory of an earlier generation of brilliant Brazilian footballers came crashing down at the feet of Italy's team, has been burned into the memories of many.

Brazil's national football team former player Walter Casagrande expresses this fear. "We have won, but we didn't face teams who have a great tradition in football history. I worry that when we face Argentina or Germany, this way of playing wont be enough to win," said Casagrande.

Even Brazil's President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva considers the team is not staging the show everyone has been expecting. "I think they are playing 70 percent of what they can," Lula said. " But I am confident they will get better as they evolve in the competition."

The lack of flair may bother Brazilian fans, who expect not just wins but works of art, but it does not bother head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. "We are in the round of 8," Parreira said. "The importance of these matches was to guarantee our participation in the (next round)."Nevertheless, he admits the team can play better.

"We made a lot of mistakes against Ghana," he said. "We had a lot of wrong assistance, we mistook speed to play several times. We cannot afford to do that anymore. We have to work on the possibilities before we try to score."

General consensus says Brazil's starters formation is the main problem. According to supporters and critics, Robinho and Juninho Pernambucano should have a place in the Brazilian team.

"Brazil were slow and bureaucratic and only improved when Robinho came on for Ronaldo, who was slow and weird," said former Brazilian player Tostao after Brazil's game against Croatia.

Other former player, Carlos Alberto Falcao agreed with Tostao. "The only game when we played more like Brazilians was against Japan. The team was more loose, enjoying the game, so we saw a better football," he said.

Meanwhile, Brazil's most criticized player Ronaldo is winning the fans again. After three goals in two matches, his overweight problems seemed to be forgotten.

"Ronaldo seems another person in the field. He gained confidence after his first goal, he lost weight and he is playing better. We are confident he will help Brazil win the Cup," said Bueno.

"Brazils next World Cup match will be on July 1st, against France. It will be a wonderful opportunity to prove we are still the best," said Casagrande. "And we can take revenge on the 1998 World Cup final," he added.

One way or another, mixed feelings of anxiety and worry will eat away at Brazilians until their team takes the field next Saturday, and will stay with them until the final second, whether it all ends in victory or a new "tragedy." "The defeat of a favourite weighs much heavier than the failures of those who have nothing to lose," said coach Parreira. "We have to play all we know and try our best not to loose."