FIFA World Cup 2018: Brazil's exit is 'saddest moment' of my career, says Neymar
Football | July 08, 2018 17:06 ISTThe five-time world champions exited football's showpiece event after a 1-2 quarter-final loss to Belgium on Friday.
The five-time world champions exited football's showpiece event after a 1-2 quarter-final loss to Belgium on Friday.
A debate about Neymar faking injury and overreacting to tackles is polarizing opinion between European outrage and Brazilian defence.
Ronaldo called on critics to be more objective and said referees were not providing sufficient protection for Brazil's No. 10.
Neymar had been accused of faking an injury in the game, and video of Tite's criticism was widely viewed.
The five-time World Cup champions will next face either Japan or Belgium in their seventh straight quarterfinal match, the stage they have reached at every World Cup since 1994.
The Brazilian squad and their supporters, meanwhile, have been complaining since the start of the 2018 tournament in Russia that the officials don't do enough to protect Neymar from fouls.
Philippe Coutinho scored in the first minute of stoppage time, and Neymar followed six minutes later to give Brazil a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica at the World Cup.
Brazil have no margin for error against Costa Rica, who won their group at the last World Cup and reached the quarterfinals.
Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, who has all four of Portugal's goals in its two games, many of the biggest names are off to a shaky start.
The Brazilians travel to Russia following a convincing 3-0 victory against Austria a week ago as Neymar banished any doubts about the injury.
Neymar said on Friday that his focus was not on individual glory, but on leading Brazil to victory in the World Cup in Russia.
Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus were on target as Brazil cruised past Austria with some fancy footwork.
Brazil coach Tite put Neymar in his main formation during training in London and removed midfielder Fernandinho from the starting lineup.
It is learnt that Ronaldo is discontent regarding the fact that the club is not ready to meet his demands and that the priority has been shifted to bringing in Neymar this season.
Lionel Messi was No. 2 at $111 million, followed by Ronaldo at $108 million, McGregor at $99 million and Neymar at $90 million.
Neymar had replaced midfielder Fernandinho at halftime with the score at 0-0 and needed less than 25 minutes to make his mark and raise hopes of Brazilian fans for the World Cup.
It seems unfathomable that two years ago the five-time world champions were in danger of missing football's showpiece event in Russia.
Before heading to London on Sunday, Neymar said he had not fully recovered after a week of training with the national team in Brazil.
Neymar was back in training to give Brazilian team a big boost ahead of the upcoming World Cup. He has been sidelined since February after having surgery on his right foot.
Brazil doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said at a news conference on Monday in Rio de Janeiro that he examined Neymar on the weekend and the results were positive.
Top News
Latest News
