Football’s boy king, once again, made himself the centre of attention in Monday’s 2-0 round-of-16 triumph against Mexico.
A tap-in for the opener and raw burst of pace for the clincher evidenced preternatural talents of rare effectiveness. Less positivity can be attached to the playground behaviour that followed the lightest of touches from Miguel Layun’s boot on the touchline.
The circus that surrounds the 26-year-old does distract from the defensive brilliance that underpins Tite’s title favourites.
Doggedness and discipline are terms not typically attached to the Canarinho. This is one of the sport’s grave injustices.
It is a story that is repeated throughout Brazil’s record five World Cup triumphs.
There is no Pele without the great Hilderaldo Bellini or Carlos Alberto, no Romario without Dunga or Ronaldo without Lucio.
Similarly in Russia, Neymar and Philippe Coutinho are the headline acts – and rightly so. The boyhood friends have either scored or assisted all seven of the team’s goals.
Look deeper and Brazil also have three clean sheets in a row. Steven Zuber’s ability to outleap Miranda in the opening 1-1 Group E-draw against Switzerland is the only time vulnerability has translated into concession.
Vibrant Mexico enacted an examination of Brazil’s credentials. Carlos Vela, Javier Hernandez and Hirving Lozano remained up the pitch at all times as inventive – and bold – head coach Juan Carlos Osorio chose endeavour over reticence.
Collectively, the North Americans’ decision making left plenty to be desired. All too often, options out wide were ignored for a shot at Alisson’s goal.
1 - Neymar has attempted the most shots (23) and shots on target (12), as well as creating the most goalscoring chances for his teammates (16) and suffering the most fouls (23) at the 2018 World Cup. Busy.#BRAMEX #BRA #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wTjXLoro8w
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 2, 2018
But when these attempts came, collective strength created an impenetrable shield. Only one of Mexico’s 14 attempts was on target.
Centre-backs Thiago Silva and Miranda led the way with a combined five blocked shots.
The former was ignored by Paris Saint-Germain for February’s trip to Real Madrid at the same stage in the Champions League. What folly.
Silva’s tally of eight clearances in Samara was five more than anyone else clad in the famous yellow. Tite’s rare decision to allow the 33-year-old to retain the captain’s armband was fully justified.
In front of them, Casemiro was a colossus. His leading six tackles snuffed out danger at the source, while his instincts led to three clearances.
A supreme standard has been set for Manchester City’s Fernandinho to match when he takes his suspended colleague’s place for the quarter-finals against Belgium.
⚽⤵ @filipeluis #GigantesPorNatureza
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) July 2, 2018
📷 Lucas Figueiredo / CBF pic.twitter.com/5QuCWSNf6h
Tite’s use of the full-backs must also gain praise. With Mexico imbued with positivity, Fagner and Filipe Luis – both stand-ins for injured superstar colleagues – were tasked with holding tight and suppressing any attacking instincts.
Their work on the cover was essential to narrowing Mexico’s options on the counter-attack.
Similarly, Brazil’s alert supremo took the rare step of ordering both centre-backs to remain in their own half for corners once Mexico’s desire to keep at least three forwards in counter-attacking positions became apparent. This was an adroit and reactive observation that critically proved beyond Germany’s Joachim Low.
Only Belgium and Russia have outscored Brazil in this edition. With one goal conceded, Uruguay are their only peers when it comes to defending.
In 1994, the Selecao kept five clean sheets from seven matches. Eight years later, it was four from seven.
In 1958, it was three from six. Only in 1962 and 1970 does this rate drop below 50 per cent – two clean sheets from six games in the former and just one from six in the latter.
O Jogo Bonito (The Beautiful Game) supported by reinforced concrete beams. A winning formula, in any language.
