Neymar continues to carry Brazil

So still no sign of the Brazil this country wants and needs then, rather signs that won’t take the sharpness off nerves before the real stuff starts against Chile at the weekend.

Neymar did enough with two first-half goals and a match-defining performance in the capital to override his teammates’ ever-present flaws, but surely there’s only so much weight he can carry. And while excuses have been made thus far in terms of the pressure the side are under, this game needs to be taken in the context of the opposition too, and in the context of a confidence-stripping opening period.

Coming into this, since the Roger Milla era, Cameroon have won just one of 14 games at the World Cup yet at times they looked like they could do the impossible and stun the world. And that after a tournament where they haven’t only disappointed, they’ve embarrassed themselves. From their late arrival due to a dispute over money with the national association to the on-field in-fighting that took place during the hiding against Croatia, they have seemed hopeless. Until they shacked up here and gave this a good enough go for a long enough time to make sure only the edges of seats were used.