Histrionics on pitch sets poor example, fumes Mexico coach

Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio blasted Neymar’s “acting”, after Brazil condemned his side to a seventh consecutive World Cup last-16 exit.

Neymar — who scored the Selecao’s first goal in a 2-0 win — reacted in dramatic fashion after clashing with Miguel Layun on the touchline with 20 minutes remaining. The Mexico substitute did appear to make contact with the Brazil superstar’s leg, but the challenge hardly seemed worthy of the histrionics that followed, and referee Gianluca Rocchi was not convinced to brandish a card.

Osorio was furious with the Paris Saint-Germain forward following the game, and believes his time-wasting hampered El Tri’s chances of finding a leveller before Roberto Firmino’s late second put the result beyond doubt. Osorio told his postmatch media conference: “Unfortunately, it’s a shame we wasted a lot of time because of

There was a situation where there was a fourminute stoppage and that’s a poor example for the world of football and all the children. JUAN OSORIO, Mexico coach

one single player.

“This is a real shame for football. We lost our style in the second half, due to the referee’s style of too many stoppages and my players got tired of that situation. There was a situation where there was a four-minute stoppage and that’s a poor example for the world of football and all the children. It’s a strong sport, a man’s sport and I think there shouldn’t be so much acting.”

Meanwhile, Osorio — who has been in charge of Mexico since 2015 — refused to be drawn on his future in the immediate aftermath, saying the situation would become clearer in the coming days. “This is the most irrelevant thing right now,” he added. “We just lost a very important match. It’s very painful so we will wait and see what happens over the next few days, you’ll see what I decide soon.”

‘NEED TO SUFFER’

Neymar, on the other hand, said: “We have to learn to suffer. It was a very difficult match, we knew the quality of our opponents.” Coach Tite said: “Neymar was out for three-and-a-half months. At the top level, this is a lot. A top-notch athlete would need four or five matches to recover properly. In the previous match he was excellent and here he repeated a high-quality performance.”

Chelsea winger Willian was a constant threat to the Mexican defence with his driving runs, as he continues to improve after a disappointing display in the opening 1-1 draw with Switzerland. “I’m very happy with my performance but even more so with the team’s victory,” he said.