Neymar shines as Brazil beat Japan

Neymar connected with the ball after Fred controlled a long cross from Marcelo with his chest. The ball bounced only once before Neymar whacked it in. “It was a very quick moment where Fred was able to control the ball and I was very lucky to get a fantastic kick and score a goal,” said Neymar, who went off in the 74th minute with a minor injury. “Everything’s OK,” the Barcelona star said. “Not to worry.”

For the two minutes immediately following the goal, most of the 67,432 fans at the National Stadium chanted Neymar’s name, revelling in the knowledge that their poster boy is already starting to deliver for the national team with one year to go before the World Cup.

Paulinho added the second goal for Brazil in the 48th minute, deftly controlling a cross from Dani Alves before turning inside and shooting. Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima got his hands to the shot but it was too powerful for him to stop. Jo got the third, in inury time, latching onto a through ball from Oscar and sliding it past Kawashima. The win gave Brazil a perfect start in Group A, which also includes Italy and Mexico.

“The reason we were not able to do what we normally do on the pitch is because we went one goal down in the third minute of the first half,” Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. “This probably shocked us.”

Neymar entered Saturday’s match facing a minor wave of criticism. He has become something of an idol in Brazil, but a nine-match scoreless streak had heaped pressure on the 21-year-old striker heading into the Confederations Cup.

The fickle Brazilian fans, who have taken to booing their team in recent weeks, were firmly behind the “Selecao” and its star this time, however.

“We are building an environment that is even better than the one we had 15 years ago,” said Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led his national team to the 2002 World Cup title. “I believe this is something everybody wants for us to reach the final, and win it.”

Already a household name in Brazil, Neymar has earned himself a massive transfer from local club Santos to Barcelona, where he will be a team-mate of Argentina’s Lionel Messi next season. The match against Japan was likely something Neymar was looking forward to. The Japanese have never beaten Brazil in 10 games, earning only two draws – both at the Confederations Cup, first in 2001 and then again in 2005.

The last time they played, in a friendly in Poland in October, Neymar scored two goals. This time, he was named Man of the Match.

Japan had their chances in the match, with Keisuke Honda missing in the first half and Ryoichi Maeda spurning a couple in the second.

Not everything was perfect for Neymar, however.

In the 15th minute, he got stuck on the sidelines fiddling with his right sock. He came back on to the field about two minutes later – after the fans took a moment to boo referee Pedro Proenca for not letting their star back on more quickly.

Midway through the second half, he was briefly knocked down. When he got back up, the fans started chanting his name once again.

And then, about six minutes later, Neymar was taken off and replaced by Lucas. The decision halted the Neymar chants, but not the cheers for Brazil from the yellow-clad faithful.

“He had a good game,” Scolari said, “and he only left because he had an injury.”