Billed as a friendly, but likely to be anything but, Brazil faced Colombia on neutral turf at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens. With the competitive return of Neymar on the cards this was not one to miss and the backdrop made it the perfect addition to our ‘Framed’ series.
The controversial striker, who has remained on Paris Saint-Germain’s books despite strong suggestions that he would be leaving this summer, has not played for club or country since injuring his right foot in a June friendly against Qatar. Which Mercurial talent would we be treated to? That was anyone’s guess ahead of kick off, and the crowd sat back ready to be entertained in which ever way the game played out.
Within 20 minutes we had our answer; Neymar floating in the perfect corner on to the on-rushing Casemiro’s head, the midfield enforcer finding the bottom corner. The lead didn’t last long, however, with a clumsy challenge from Alex Sandro leading to a penalty, which Luis Muriel duly dispatched. Colombia then took the lead 11 minutes before half time, a nice slide pass finding Muriel again, and the Atlanta striker rifled home.
Ring the Cliche klaxon, because cometh the hour, cometh the man. A delightful long ball from Coutinho found captain Dani Alves in the area on the 57th minute (OK, not exactly the hour, but close enough) and the full-back played a first time ball across the box for the unmarked Neymar to tap in. Shortly after came the obligatory Neymar-rolls-on-the-floor moment after Davison Sanchez slammed him face first into pitch-side advertising. Bit of rolling and gesticulating to accompany the match-winning performance – Yep, Neymar's back.
Photography by Ted Brooks for SoccerBible.
