The Al Hilal star cemented his place in the record books by helping the Selecao narrowly win the World Cup final.
Neymar finally got the chance to surpass the almighty Pelé and become Brazil’s record holder, and he stepped forward. After his signature slowdown, Guillermo shot at Vizcarra but didn’t make it.
It turns out Neymar’s progress has been delayed by just minutes, not days or weeks. Neymar surpassed Pele’s success with his 78th goal, becoming the Selecao’s top scorer, and added his 79th goal. The highlight moment was Brazil’s 5-1 win over Bolivia, which gave them a great start to their World Cup campaign.
But it’s not just about Neymar. To be fair, star Hilal may not be Brazil’s best striker. Rodrygo took home the award, scoring twice and assisting another. It was an important attack as Brazil had expected, but the game will always be remembered thanks to the help of Neymar, who now finds himself alone at the top of the campaign plans.
Goalkeepers and Defense
Ederson (6/10):
When creating a game with 100% passing accuracy, which was quite common in his era. He had to make two slow saves and thought maybe he could have done better in goal.
Danilo (6/10):
He came forward better than Lodi, creating good runs down the right.
Marquinhos (6/10):
Bolivia was never threatened.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Very good at receiving the ball and sweeping it when necessary. Great performance from Arsenal’s star.
Renan Lodi (6/10):
He may have been punished before but not called. Other than that, it’s pretty quiet.
Midfield
Bruno Guimares (8/10):
A monster in the middle. He made no mistake in 71 minutes, creating two chances and winning the ball back many times. Complete.
Casemiro (7/10):
Good but not as good as Guimares. But there is no shame in this, because it helped keep Bolivia quiet.
Attack
Rodrigo (9/10):
The best performance by a Real Madrid player. He scored two goals, made one assist, he did a very good job.
Neymar (9/10):
There is a penalty right now, but his performance is very good. But the important thing is the goal he scored while adding another stoppage time.
Raffinha (8/10):
Neymar helped achieve a good goal. It’ll be overshadowed by the other two, but it’s just as good.
Richardson (4/10):
The day was quite quiet for the Tottenham Hotspur players. Just 15 touches overall and never really got involved while the other attackers around him were all buzzing and skied a great chance.
Subs & Manager
Matheus Cunha (5/10):
Came on with about 20 minutes left and didn’t get going with the game already out of hand.
Joelinton (6/10):
Replaced his club team-mate Guimaraes in midfield but missed his one big chance.
Caio Henrique (5/10):
Was at least partially at fault on the goal as he couldn’t stop Victor Abrego’s run.
Roger Ibanez (N/A):
Came on late to replace Gabriel.
Gabriel Jesus (N/A):
A few minutes as a cameo as Rodrygo was taken off to celebrate a job well done.
Fernando Diniz (7/10):
Hard to mess this up but got things right on this day. It’s difficult to pick too many faults after such a one-sided victory.