The world’s most expensive footballer, Neymar was on the receiving end of a lot of fouls in yesterday’s game against Switzerland. He could be forgiven for feeling a bit sorry for himself, given that he was fouled more times than any other player has in a World Cup game for the last 20 years. Carrying a big price tag can draw a lot of attention, as Neymar will be more than aware of.
Neymar’s recent injury woes
The star striker had already missed a fair amount of football this season with a foot injury and at the World Cup 2014, he suffered a bad back injury against Colombia which ended his World Cup prematurely. So he would have been hoping to get through these games unscathed but it seemed the Switzerland players had other ideas.
Referee too soft or Neymar acting up?
Following the game, match commentators analysed the high number of fouls, questioning the referee’s inability to protect the player sufficiently. Other opinions showed that there were also questions around how easily Neymar went down after less convincing fouls. However, Neymar looked in considerable pain as he hobbled off the pitch at full-time with the scores level at 1-1.
It looked like Switzerland’s game plan was to keep Neymar as quiet as possible, by staying tight on him and conceding fouls if necessary. Neymar seemed less than impressed with the heavy challenges, commenting after the game that ‘it is for the referee to see it’ (the fouling).
Neymar's match against #SUI in photos.
10 fouls suffered. Many more demanded from the referee #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/BOunJVNn2S
— Goal (@goal) June 17, 2018
Neymar may miss next game
There are now concerns over whether Neymar will be fit to play against Costa Rica on Friday. Brazil certainly are not short of star players in their squad and Countinho showed exactly why Barcelona had been willing to pay huge sums for his services. His sublime goal was deserving of a much better result for his team but Switzerland had no intentions of letting them have an easy game.
Ronaldo now favourite for the Golden Boot
Neymar was favourite for the Golden Boot going into the tournament but after Ronaldo’s stunning hat-trick against Spain, he has become the clear favourite at 15/8, with Neymar dropping down to odds of 14/1. If he is to miss the next game then it will become even less likely that he will be picking up any individual accolades at this World Cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baWnvYuVsj0
