The Brazilian team experienced just how an ankle can shock a whole football nation right after their first appearance at the World Cup in Qatar. The superstar of the team was substituted in the final phase of the game against Serbia (2-0), and pictures quickly circulated that showed a thick right ankle. And because the rest of the body belonged to Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, the shaking was great. Would the 30-year-old again fall victim to tough attacks from his opponent and his own vulnerability in his third and last World Cup participation?
The 122-time international then answered the question himself. He posted a photo on Instagram over the weekend that shows significant improvements: The swelling after his ligament injury was no longer so worrying that there was no comeback during the title fights should be possible in Qatar. And because Neymar also translated the picture with the words “Let’s go”, they dream of a quick comeback in the Brazilian camp.
Perhaps that was a bit too much of a focus on one nation’s ankle for the Seleção’s captain. In any case, Thiago Silva felt compelled to objectively classify his teammate’s injury: “These are things that happen. We are with him. And if he’s not fit again against Switzerland, then it will be in the last game against Cameroon,” said the Chelsea FC centre-back pragmatically.
It wasn’t enough for a mission on Monday evening in the 974 container stadium in Doha. And the big question was: is the squad of the self-proclaimed title favorite really so good that Neymar’s absence shouldn’t matter? With a more defensive variant, coach Tite tried to compensate for the loss of the most expensive footballer in the world with a transfer fee of 222 million euros. Instead of the ailing star from Paris Saint-Germain, he opted for Fred – a central midfielder by birth.
But how much the free spirit behind the tips was missing was noticeable in the first half. Basically, there were only two main chances for the Seleção: Raphinha hit a great diagonal ball at Vinicius Junior, whose volley acceptance was outstandingly saved by Yann Sommer (27th). Four minutes later it was Raphinha himself who found his master in the Swiss goalkeeper with a long-range shot.
The extensive sadness in both penalty areas initially continued during the second half. The supposed outsider then had the best opportunity: Ruben Vargas, however, missed on a pass by Silvan Widmer (54th). At the other end, Richarlison, who scored twice in the 2-0 win against Serbia and scored the best World Cup goal to date with the second goal, just missed a cross from the ball (56′). Shortly thereafter, Vinicius Junior sent the fans dressed in yellow, green and blue into ecstasy when he made a nice pass in the right corner (64th). However, assist provider Richarlison was offside, the goal was denied again after video evidence.
And so in the end it was a dropkick from Casemiro that was well worth seeing, and Sommer could only watch the ball after it that brought the decision (83′). The Brazilians couldn’t take the 1:0 away. For them it was a small release: on and off the pitch. And coach Tite was able to state: It works quite well without Neymar – even if the spectacle was limited to just a few scenes this time.
