Spotlight On Neymar As Brazil Aim To Find Form

Neymar's fitness will be under the microscope on Friday as Brazil try to kickstart their World Cup campaign, anxious to avoid the same fate as a shambolic Argentina and the under-performing Lionel Messi.

Saint Petersburg, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jun, 2018 ) :Neymar's fitness will be under the microscope on Friday as Brazil try to kickstart their World Cup campaign, anxious to avoid the same fate as a shambolic Argentina and the under-performing Lionel Messi.

Argentina, the 2014 finalists, slumped to a 3-0 defeat by Croatia that ruthlessly exposed the flaws in an ageing team that is over-reliant on Messi.

Messi barely had a shot on target and Argentina failed to recover from a terrible mistake by goalkeeper Willy Caballero that gifted the Croats their first goal and the two-time champions now face an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout phase.

Neymar, Brazil's most important player, was subjected to rough treatment in a 1-1 draw against Switzerland, his first competitive appearance in almost four months, before hobbling out of the Rostov Arena.

The 222-million-euro man then limped out of a training session two days later with a sore right ankle, but Brazil coach Tite has confirmed he will start against Costa Rica in Saint Petersburg.

While Neymar sporadically showed flashes of his genius against Switzerland, he appeared to slow Brazil down at other times rather than keep the ball moving.