Brazil legend Pele has had his say on the national side's current difficulties, suggesting a lack of teamwork is behind its poor form.

Following a fourth-place finish at the World Cup on home soil last year, which included a 7-1 hammering at the hands of eventual winner Germany, Dunga's side bowed out in the quarterfinals of this summer's Copa America in Chile.

The five-time world champions were then beaten 2-0 by Chile in the first of their World Cup qualifiers on Friday.

"We have not lost passion for football. We have the best players for Brazil but unfortunately, we don't have time to prepare the team," Pele told reporters.

"Individual players are important but to have a good team you need to play together well as a team. That's the big problem. Individually we have the best players but as a team we've a lot of problems. In my time the players used to belong to the clubs but today players are managed by their agents. Presently we have a lot of problems in different positions of the field."

Brazil captain Neymar is currently suspended for a red card he received during the team's Copa elimination at the hands of Paraguay, having also had his World Cup cut short by injury. 

Asked whether the Barcelona forward can lead Brazil back towards silverware on his return, Pele added: "I hope Neymar wins a trophy for Brazil, he hails from Santos, the club I used to play for.

"My son Edinho was the one who trained him, so I feel proud and happy. He has a good future. Neymar, he could be one of the best players now, at the moment, no doubt."