BRAZIL, NEYMAR REMAIN INSEPARABLE

ONLY TEAM LEFT STANDING AMONG WORLD CUP’S ELITE

SAMARA, Russia – Flaunting his flair and his finishing touch wasn’t enough. Neymar put his theatrics on show, too.

What became clear in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Mexico on Monday is that the wild side of the striker’s character is going nowhere at this year’s World Cup. And neither is Brazil.

“I don’t much care for criticism,” Neymar said, “not even for praise.”

With a goal and an assist, Neymar propelled Brazil into the quarterfinals of a tournament it has won five times. He also extended his platform to show the world he is as good – or better – than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Although Neymar has scored only two goals in four games in Russia, he did enter the World Cup after spending three months recovering from a broken right foot. And it was the right foot that helped to break through Mexico’s stern resistance in Samara.

After releasing Willian with a backheel, Neymar raced into the penalty area and slid to tap his teammate’s return cross into the net.

While his scoring is so often the focus, Neymar also creates goals for his teammates. A toe-poked attempt to beat Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 88th minute was diverted into the path of Roberto Firmino, who scored with a tap-in just like Neymar did. The world’s most expensive player has 11 goals and nine assists in his last 19 games for Brazil.