RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazil captain Thiago Silva has not given up hope of reclaiming a starting berth for the Selecao during this year's World Cup in .

The 33-year-old center-back has been a peripheral figure for Brazil since his handball gifted a penalty to Paraguay in the 2015 Copa America quarterfinals, which the team lost on spot kicks.

The current incumbents in the middle of Brazil's defence are Silva's Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marquinhos and Inter Milan's Mda.

"They are both playing very well and are making very few mistakes," Silva told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. "But I don't think anybody has a guaranteed starting position in Brazil's national team.

"I know what my potential is and the other players know theirs. I just have to work hard every day and then the opportunities will come."

Brazil are likely to enter the June 14 - July 15 tournament as the favorites after losing just one of their 18 South American zone qualifiers.

But they will need to overcome the harrowing memory of the World Cup on home soil four years ago, when they suffered a humiliating 7-1 semifinal loss to .

"There is no way to forget what happened in 2014," said Silva, who missed the match against the eventual champions because of suspension.

"Even if we win the World Cup we can't erase what happened. What we can do is minimize the effects of it, if we manage to achieve our dream of being champions."

Despite his absence against Germany in Belo Horizonte, Silva was criticized by sections of the Brazilian media after the tournament. Some questioned his temperament after he wept openly as Brazil prepared for their penalty shootout with Chile in the round of 16, which the hosts won.

"People tried to make me quit football," Silva said. "They talked a lot about what happened (the tears) without bothering to look at the human side. But that's normal in football. Everybody has an opinion," he added.