Road to the World Cup (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Matt Oldfield

Author:Matt Oldfield [Matt Oldfield]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786069252
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

THE DUNGA DAYS

Brazil bounced back well after that World Cup thrashing by Germany. In fact, their new manager Dunga led them to ten wins in a row, beating top international teams like Argentina and France.

The problem was, however, that those matches were all friendlies. As soon as it came to knock-out tournament football, everything changed. Brazil panicked, especially whenever Neymar Jr wasn’t there. He was still only twenty-three, but he was now his country’s captain, as well as their superstar. They relied on him more than ever.

At the 2015 Copa América, Neymar Jr was suspended for the quarter-final against Paraguay. Brazil lost on penalties.

At the start of qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Neymar Jr was suspended again. Brazil lost 2–0 to Chile.

‘We need you back,’ his friend Dani Alves moaned. ‘We’re rubbish without you!’

Neymar Jr returned just in time for the big match against South American rivals Argentina. The fireworks before kick-off only added to the amazing atmosphere. Brazil needed a victory and Neymar Jr was back to be their hero. What could go wrong? His Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi was even out injured for Argentina.

But in the first half, Brazil were terrible. They never really got going and kept giving the ball away with sloppy passes. It was no surprise when Argentina took the lead.

‘Come on, we’re so much better than this,’ Neymar Jr shouted at his teammates in frustration. ‘If we don’t improve, we can forget about the 2018 World Cup!’

His team-talk worked. Brazil looked more dangerous in the second half, and eventually, Lucas Lima scored an equaliser. Neymar Jr was relieved not to lose the match, but he still wasn’t happy.

‘We should be winning games like that,’ he told his friend Philippe Coutinho. ‘Where’s our ginga gone? We’re Brazil; we shouldn’t be playing boring football. We need more ‘flair players’ like you in the team!’

For the first time, Neymar Jr wasn’t really enjoying himself in the famous yellow shirt. Under Dunga, Brazil were solid but unspectacular. Neymar Jr was the team’s main creative force, and he was expected to win matches on his own. But without much support, he wasn’t scoring goals, or setting them up either.

Neymar Jr didn’t give up, though. He had a World Cup to aim for, and before that, a massive match against Uruguay to look forward to. He would be up against the other member of Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ strikeforce, Luis Suárez. It was the talk of the training ground for weeks.

‘We’re definitely going to win!’ Luis argued confidently. ‘You’ve got no chance now that I’m back in the team.’

Neymar Jr shook his head and smiled. ‘Are you sure about that? Wanna bet?’

Luis wasn’t backing down. ‘Okay fine, the loser has to buy dinner!’

‘Deal!’ Neymar Jr agreed, shaking his friend’s hand. Suddenly, a Brazil win was even more important than normal. There were burgers at stake.

Neymar Jr dropped deep to collect the ball and then dribbled forward. The Brazilian fans cheered; they expected magic every time. As he cut in from the left, Neymar Jr spotted Renato Augusto’s run down the right.

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