Brazil boss Tite teamed up with injured star Neymar to hail Casemiro as the best midfielder in the world after Brazil beat Switzerland 1-0 to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Casemiro’s stunning half-volley seven minutes from time gave the South Americans a second successive victory despite the absence of their talismanic No 10. Neymar, sidelined by an ankle problem, tweeted immediately that the Manchester United enforcer is the best in the business.
And Tite said: “I usually don’t comment on opinions but I will allow myself to do so today - and I agree with Neymar. It was our first match without Neymar. The team chooses who is the star, the team shows who is the star - and today Casemeiro was man-of-the-match.”
The five-time world champions were made to struggle by a Swiss team who also had designs on racking up a second successive win. But Casemiro, who moved to Old Trafford from Real Madrid in a £70million deal in the summer, was the difference.
Casemiro said: “I believe it’s important, regardless of the goal, to assist the team. We all win together and we all lose together. I got man-of-the-match, but this is a group. My first objective is to support the players at the back and try to put out fires.
“But when you’re playing against more defensive opponents then you must feel what is happening in the match. If there is an opportunity to take a shot on goal then I will take it. My idea is to always move forward.”
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Brazil were not at their free-flowing best inside Stadium 974, but after a cagey first half they came to life after the break. Vinicius Jr thought he had opened the scoring with a cool finish but VAR ruled the goal out for an offside against Richarlison in the build-up.
Instead it was left to Casemiro to break the deadlock with a fantastic snapshot finish inside the penalty area. Tite's side have now qualified for the last-16 with a game to spare, with wins Serbia and Switzerland.
Brazil face Cameroon in their final Group G game on Friday in another match that Neymar will miss through an ankle injury picked up against Serbia. The PSG star has already been ruled out of the group stages, but Tite believes he will feature later on in the tournament.
“Don’t worry, Neymar will play in the World Cup," he said before the Switzerland match.
“He will keep playing, you can be sure about that.” Tite added: "I didn't see Neymar was injured - the capacity he has to overcome it tricked even me.”
