The end? Neymar’s World Cup dream could be over forever
(Picture: Getty Images)Brazil were favourites to win the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar but were crushed under the weight of their own history.
They have been knocked out of four of their last five quarter-finals of this competition, losing 7-1 on their last appearance in a semi-final to Brazil on home soil in 2014.
The trauma and pressure of being a player for Selecao was written on the faces of the players who almost all crashed to the ground and broke down into tears after Marquinhos hit the post in the penalty shootout.
His miss followed Rodrygo’s saved spot kick and a last-minute deflected Bruno Petkovic goal in extra time delivered three more moments of pain for the nation that might love football more than any other.
For Neymar, in particular, it was all too much as he cried more than any other player after the defeat on penalties.
Dani Alves tried to console his teammate for club and country but after setting up and scoring what could have been a legendary goal in the 106th minute, he had to face up to disappointment.
He had picked up the ball in midfield and produced a pair of one-twos with Rodrygo and Lucas Paqueta before jinking past both Luka Modric and Dominik Livakovic before smashing his finish into the roof of the net.
Watching on were Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu who saw a moment recreate the beautiful imagery from their past world champion teams.
With a record five World Cup titles to their name, this was a team good enough to win it as Neymar and Thiago Silva tried to emulate their recent failures with a young generation of stars that includes Richarlison, Antony, Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Marquinhos.
The emotional stakes had been high and many of the players produced a nervous performance against a European side that couldn’t match their talent but with know-how to navigate the emotion of tournament football.
Part of the emotion was around hearing about Pele’s illness and the need to symbolically deliver a trophy for the footballer who started it all for this country in the sport.
Neymar may never become like Pele, Rivaldo or Ronaldo and may never win the World Cup or Ballon d’Or. It is no wonder he cried after seeing what he thought was his destiny vanish in front of his eyes.
