Having purged his nine-match ban for biting at the 2014 World Cup,

star Uruguay and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez is both nervous and

excited ahead of a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Brazil in Recife on

Friday.

Suarez has scored 37 goals for Barcelona this season, but has not

played for Uruguay since biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the

last World Cup 20 months ago.

The 29-year-old is also widely feared for his chaos causing runs and

astonishing range of strikes, and is relishing a chance to attack

Brazil’s weak spot, ‘their defence’ while also anxious the occasion may

get the better of him.

“I’m going to try and control the anxiety and nervousness that other

people’s excitement may make me feel,” said Suarez, who vowed his

nine-match suspension from international football would not moderate his

on-the-edge style.

“I’ll just keep running, pressuring and arguing,” he promised. “With more moderation, just like I do at Barcelona.”

Without their wayward striker, Uruguay have played with Paris

Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani and got off to a good start in the

ten-team Latin American 2018 World Cup qualifying group.

Uruguay sit second on nine points from four games, three behind

Ecuador but two ahead of Friday’s opponents Brazil, Paraguay and

continental champions Chile.

“Brazil is the home team and it has major strong points which are in the mid-field and from there on,” reasoned Suarez.

“But we were always strong defensively.”

Not without a certain relish for a striker who moves forward with

hunger and gusto Suarez then suggested Brazil had “defence weaknesses

that we will try to take advantage of.”

The former Liverpool striker said his coach, Oscar Tabarez, had been focussing on the Brazil back-line in tactical briefings.

He also revealed the light-hearted side of the game when he revealed

he and Barcelona teammate Neymar were looking forward to the challenge

of facing off, with the loser promising to treat the winner to a burger.

“We’ll both be doing our best for our countries,” he insisted.

Having started his European playing days in Belgium’s northern

neighbour the Netherlands at Groningen and Ajax, where he played four

seasons,  Suarez was asked his thoughts on the terror attacks that left

at least 30 dead on Tuesday he described the situation as a nightmare.

“This is something to worry about all over the world. We are in a

very delicate situation in many european countries. This has to stop

now, so people can live in peace and this nightmare will be over.”

Before the 2014 World Cup outrage, Suarez had twice previously picked up bans of seven and ten matches for biting rival players.

He was also hit with an eight match suspension for baiting then

Manchester United player Patrice Evra with constant references to his

ethnic origin.

Amongst a litany of jaw-dropping incidents perhaps the most memorable

was the one which saw him shoot to global fame at the 2010 South

African World Cup when diving to save a shot late in a quarter-final

with Ghana. 

After being sent off he then celebrated wildly in the tunnel after

Ghana failed to convert their spot-kick, depriving them of the chance to

become the first Africans to make the semi-finals.

But when it comes to goals Suarez can dig them out of the ground and

went out to Brazil 2014 as Europe’s top scoring striker and was awarded

player of the tournament when Uruguay won the 2011 Copa America.