Neymar was the star of his show as his performance ensured Brazil a Quarter-Final berth at the expense of Mexico. Neymar improved his performances in the tournament as he scored a goal and setup another to rally his side to a 2-0 victory. Roberto Firmino came off the bench to get on the scoresheet in the 88^th minute after he was at the receiving end of Neymar’s brilliant pass in the box and increased Brazil’s World Cup goals to 228, no other country has scored more.

Brazil started the second half on top, but the occasion was illuminated when Willian and Neymar combined perfectly to create a beautiful tap-in for Neymar. Brazil went on an utmost rampage after Neymar’s goal and should have ideally been four goals up barring Guillermo Ochoa’s heroic performance in Mexico’s goal. Willian was a star in the game with his direct running and skill on the ball – he really troubled the Mexican backline. Mexico could not conjure up any meaningful attacks in the second half and have been rightly eliminated.

The first half was a cagey affair with Mexico looking very impressive on the break, but Brazil’s coach Tite setup his side not to be caught on the break. Mexico were slightly the better side and looked very dangerous on the break with Hirving Lozano, Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez their chief orchestrators. Brazil, on the other hand, had slightly more possession but they failed to create clear-cut chances to take the lead. Neymar was well marshalled and he seemed a frustrated figure.

Brazil will face the winner between Belgium and Japan in the quarter-finals.

Ade Thompson