Sao Paulo, Nov 12 (IANS): Brazilian coach, Carlos Verri, better known as Dunga, says Neymar is the best footballer in the world in 2015, and is better than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

"If we compare numbers, Neymar has shown that he has a better output because Messi is injured and Cristiano Ronaldo reached such a high point last year that more is expected of him," Xinhua news agency quoted Dunga as saying on Wednesday.

His comment came ahead of Brazil facing off against rivals Argentina in Buenos Aires, as part of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Dunga added that "Neymar has been growing since arriving in Barcelona and is meeting expectations" created by the absence of Messi from the team.

When asked about the superb goal scored by Neymar on November 8 for Barcelona against Villarreal, Dunga joked that he had wondered why Neymar did not score such goals when playing for Brazil.

However, Dunga was quick to deny that Brazil would be favourites against Argentina on November 12, even though they will be without Messi, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez.

"Argentina is playing at home, they finished second in the World Cup, and have other great players in the team," said the Brazilian coach.