Sunday People

Neymar must stay calm... he’s easily a haircut above the rest

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EVERY generation has its great strikers.

When I was playing, all defenders hated facing Ronaldo, Romario, Raul, Fernando Morientes and Davor Suker. This World Cup is Harry Kane’s time to shine.

The Tottenham striker (left) is such an important player for English football, and he proved it again against Tunisia. He isn’t just the captain – he’s also the reference point in attack. Harry’s off to a great start with two goals and I’m expecting big things from him in his battle to win the Golden Boot.

But it wasn’t just Kane who impressed me in that opener. Gareth Southgate has formed a strong unit. It’s a young squad, but that’s not a problem. They’re playing at a good level in the Premier League and they’re hungry.

Winning your first game is vital, because it spreads calm, but there’s a lot to come from these exciting, young Lions. Poor Panama. NEYMAR was always going to be one of the star attraction­s at this World Cup, and it’s fair to say he’s packed a lot of drama into the last few days.

Countless fouls, two haircuts, some penalty drama, an injury scare and even a few tears... it has been dramatic, even by his standards.

But while questions are being asked of Brazil’s talisman, I’m still confident he’s going to fire us to glory this summer.

It hasn’t been the easiest start, for him or for the team, but the first couple of games are always tense and there are plenty of positive signs.

Neymar played well against Costa Rica, and took his goal nicely.

He’s not at top speed yet – you can see that he’s clearly still trying to forget about the pain he’s had in his foot over the last few months.

But he’s getting there, building up his fitness. We’re going to see him at his best when the knockout stages get underway.

What I like about Neymar is that he’s always desperate to help the team, even when he’s not firing on all cylinders.

We all know about his ability, but there’s also a collective spirit there – he thinks about the group, not just himself.

I can understand why he gets annoyed with referees. He got kicked around in both games, but the ref in the Costa Rica match kept telling him off, saying he was diving. But I’d tell him to stay a bit more calm in those situations. He can be this World Cup’s best player and we don’t need him getting sent off.

Some people were wondering why he was crying after the final whistle, but I don’t have a problem with that.

He was out of action for three months and needed to get some of the emotion out after scoring.

You have to remember that he’s still young at just 26, and he’s under huge pressure. But I’m not worried about him – he’s a great profession­al and will prove that in the weeks ahead. It’s the same for the coach, Tite, who deserves a lot of credit for Friday’s win. Costa Rica put in a good performanc­e, especially in the first half, but our possession wore them out and two substituti­ons in the second half changed everything.

Douglas Costa and Roberto Firmino gave us more speed and more cutting edge in the final third, and helped set up the two late goals. More proof that Brazil’s squad is full of talent.

But I wouldn’t change the team for the Serbia game. Continuity is important, and the guys who came on know they’ll get a chance in the second half.

Tite has also brought the best out of Philippe Coutinho, who is shining in a central position.

I love watching that guy play. He’s brilliant on the ball, obviously, but he’s clever off it, too, taking up good positions.

Everyone speaks about Neymar, but Coutinho is proving that he’s also a massive player for Brazil too. When all the defenders focus on Neymar, he pops up and decides matches.

I’m still very upbeat about our chances in Russia. Our individual quality, along with the organisati­on of the team, makes us the side to beat.

But it’s been a slower than expected start, and we now need to finish off the job against Serbia on Wednesday.

Neymar, Coutinho, Firmino... whoever delivers the knockout blow, let’s do it fast to show the world we mean business. Look at Firmino. He’s doing for Brazil what he does for Liverpool... given us more speed and more cutting edge

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EURICA: Neymar prays after beating Costa Rica

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