Will Neymar Play Against Japan? Brazil Gets Key World Cup Injury Update
· Yahoo Sports
Brazil is set to take on Japan in the World Cup round of 32 on Monday, and the team got some good news about a star player.
Neymar Jr. had been sidelined from Brazil’s first two World Cup games while nursing a calf injury and played only sparingly in the third, but coach Carlo Ancelotti shared a positive update the day before the knockout round game.
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Neymar Ready to Return in Full for Brazil
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Ancelotti held back from giving the full starting lineup for his team against Japan, but hinted that Neymar was ready to ramp up his workload even more. As USA Today noted, Ancelotti said the circumstances of the game will determine how long Neymar is in the game.
“Neymar is making great progress,” Ancelotti said through a translator. “I believe that in the last week his progress was very significant; unfortunately, he could not train during the time he was with us so that he could play longer than 15 minutes. I think he is doing well enough to do that but obviously it will depend on the context that weâll be facing during tomorrowâs match.”
The 34-year-old Neymar drew loud cheers when he was substituted into the game in the 75th minute of his team’s 3-0 win over Scotland.
Brazil Remaining Focused on the Match
Ancelotti seemed reluctant to engage in speculation about Neymar, and generally wanted to avoid the drama that has surrounded Monday’s match. Japan and Brazil are considered to be evenly matched, and Japan’s Kento Shiogai has engaged in a bit of trash talk by implying that the Brazilian team has fallen off, ESPN noted.
Ancelotti did not comment on the brewing tensions, saying he didn’t want to give in to the “mind games” from the Japanese team.
“I won’t repeat what others say. We’re focused on the match, on the opponent’s qualities, on preparing well to avoid problems,” Ancelotti said.
“That’s what match preparation is about. We’re not doing what they call in England ‘mind games.’ How do you say it in Portuguese? Mind games. We’re not going there.”
As ESPN’s Gabriel Tan noted, Japan’s trip to the round of 32 represented the culmination of two decades of careful program building.
“The Samurai Blue now boast a plethora of exports not just playing, but excelling, in Europe,” Tan wrote. “And in some of the continent’s most prominent leagues. Only three members of the current squad have been called up domestically: 39-year-old veteran YÅ«to Nagatomo — who did spend seven years as a regular for Inter Milan — and the two back-up goalkeepers in Keisuke Åsako and Tomoki Hayakawa.”
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