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Neymar may not have stepped onto the pitch, but he ensured he remained in the spotlight after Brazil's thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Japan in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32.
After the match, the Brazilian forward posted a cheeky response on social media X to German economist Joachim Klement, whose statistical model had predicted Japan would knock Brazil out. Neymar wrote on X, "Sr. Joachim klement ... favor tentar na proxima copa," roughly translating to, "Mr Joachim Klement... please try again at the next World Cup." Meanwhile, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti, while speaking to the host broadcasters, revealed that he had intended to introduce Neymar in the second half against Japan but decided to hold him back for potential extra time after the scores were level in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash. Speaking to the host broadcaster after Brazil's dramatic 2-1 victory over Japan, Ancelotti explained the reasoning behind his substitution strategy involving the star forward. "I talked to Ney (Neymar), if we don't draw, he'd come on at 60 minutes. Since we drew, I was preserving him for the 30 minutes of extra time," Ancelotti told the host broadcasters. Coming to the match, Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic 95th-minute winner as Brazil mounted a thrilling second-half comeback to defeat Japan 2-1, securing a hard-fought ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 in front of a packed stadium on Monday (local time). Brazil advances to the Round of 16, where they will face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on July 5 at the New York New Jersey Stadium. (ANI)
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