Neymar was the star as Brazil put in a convincing performance in their 4-0 pre-World Cup friendly win over Panama. Goals: 27′ Neymar 40′ Daniel Alves 46′ Hulk 73′ Willian Highlights: https://youtube/watch?v=9vgjkTTA3NI Brazil vs Panama LIVE Commentary text The Selecao really turned it on in the second half, adding two more goals in that period to match with their double in the first half. One more friendly to go before the tournament starts, and another impressive, dominant display in the books. Panama were never in this. 90′ +3 Thats it! Full time. 90′ +1 NEYMAR! Within inches again! Maicon is afforded acres of space down the right hand side to get forward, and he lashes a great low cross into the path of Neymar, whose first touch is excellent. However, his finish is blocked at the last! 89′ NEYMAR! Clever play around the box as he starts and finishes a one two with Jo, taking aim from 20 yards and narrowly missing the bottom corner! Moments before, Hulk had come within inches of controlling a long ball that would have surely been number five . 87′ Willian drives a low cross into the Panama box that just misses connecting with the feet of Jo. It was inches away from being 5-0 to the home side, but as it were, Panama have a goalkick. Time slowly ticking away here. 85′ The referee could only ever hope to get away with that in a friendly. He flashed the red card clear as day in the direction of Gomez, and replays were spot on in showing the handball. Ive looked at it in slow motion about five times now and I cant see another infraction that would have preceded and superseded that call - perhaps the vaguest of offside calls on Dante is my only guess. 83′ HANG ON! The red card has been WITHDRAWN! No penalty either, and Gomez is allowed to stay on the pitch! The game instead restarts with a Panama free kick, meaning that there was some infraction spotted before Gomez handled the ball! What a bizarre moment! 81′ CROSSBAR! A free kick is flighted into the box, and a Brazilian head sends it thudding off the crossbar! Maicon attacks the rebound, but the ball is taken off his head by the hand of Gomez, leading to a RED CARD for the midfielder, and a PENALTY for Brazil! 79′ The mobile stretcher has been called out onto the pitch for a Panama player as the match takes another breather. No complaints from the men on the pitch, who use the opportunity to get a quick drink of water. 77′ Neymar is woefully offside on another Brazil attack, but that does not stop him from chesting the ball up and firing in an overhead kick on goal. McFarlane saves it comfortably, before the inevitable referees whistle. 75′ PENALTY? Another lightning fast Brazil attack sees Hulk collect a cross inside the area, where he turns too quickly for a defender, who gets his legs tangled in with his. It looked legit to me, and Hulk was so sure of it that he grabbed the ball to place it on the spot. It was that which sparked the referee into action though, as he blows for a handball against Hulk instead! 73′ Assist Maxwell 73′ Goal Willian Simply too much speed and quality for these burned out Panama defenders. Neymar strides through the middle and cleverly feeds Maxwell just before the tackle comes in. The PSG man squares it simply for Willian, who lashes home the finish, celebrating with a Samba dance. 73′ BRAZIL HAVE FOUR! 72′ Theres a few spent faces out on the pitch. Dante looks exhausted, as he is one of the increasingly rare players on the pitch to have played every minute of the game so far. But Scolari has used all six of his subs, as per the agreement of this friendly. 70′ Substitution David Luiz Henrique 70′ Hulk loses his footing when striking a free kick, but it instead adds an extra wrinkle to the set piece, as he manages to get it towards the bottom corner, forcing McFarlane to save. Moments later, David Luizs race is run. He tosses the armband to Julio Cesar and departs for Henrique. 68′ Yellow Card G. Gómez 68′ Henriquez becomes the latest man to have his name taken by the referee, going in late on Neymar within the sightline of the official. This comes moments after Panama make another change, taking off Rodriguez for Carroll. 67′ Substitution Nahil Carroll C. Rodríguez 66′ As expected, the game has rather slowed to a crawl after both the time taken to make the substitutions and the time needed for the new additions to acclimatise themselves. It still seems a matter of how many goals Brazil want though, Panama, apart from that Munoz chance, look done. 64′ Now its a straight Chelsea swap, as Oscar is hauled off for his club teammate Willian, in another like for like change from Scolari. The former Shakhtar man has become known for his workrate under Jose Mourinho, and he will put some pressure on a tiring Panama backline. 63′ Substitution Oscar Willian 62′ NOT A BAD CHANCE! Maicon loops a high ball right into the heart of the box that is aimed towards Luiz, who makes contact unmarked with his head but cannot steer it on target. Still, too easy for Brazil there. 61′ Substitution Fred Jô 60′ Brazil make another change as the tempo of the game is broken up by these recent substitutions. Off goes Fred, who missed that great chance, and on comes Jo for the final half hour or so. 59′ Substitution R. Torres H. Cummings 58′ Three subs within two minutes of each other from Panama. Cooper is replaced by Torres, Machado goes off for Jimenez and finally, Cummings takes the place of R. Torres. 56′ Substitution Adolfo Machado J. Jiménez 56′ Substitution Armando Cooper Gabriel Torres 56′ There was a glimpse of a chance there for Nurse, which turned into a lot more thanks to an unorthodox header from him! He loops the ball towards goal with his forehead that sees Julio Cesar hesitate, and react late to tip the effort over the crossbar! 54′ Panama manage to execute a spell of possession in the Brazil half that eventually springs to life when Munoz is sent on the chase for a long ball against Luiz. He plays it back to Barahona, who decides to check on Julio Cesars concentration with a long range strike, but it bounces right into the grasp of the Toronto FC man. 52′ MCFARLANE CALLED INTO ACTION! An attack executed at the speed of light sees Oscar feed Neymar, whose jet heels take him clear of his man on the left hand side, and allow him the time and space to have a crack on goal. However, the Panama keeper just manages to back into position to thwart the striker! 50′ COULD HAVE BEEN FOUR! Neymar is on the ball and picks out Fred perfectly, but somehow, the former Lyon man cannot get his header on target, from a position where it looked like McFarlane had absolutely NO chance! Make no mistake, Panama were let off the hook! 48′ That goal came so fast that I didnt even have time to run down the changes at half time! Its a triple change at the break from Scolari, and three rather like for like swaps taking place. Alves is sacrificed for Maicon, and Maxwell comes on for Marcelo as the Selecao swap their full backs. Finally, in the middle, Hernanes enters the fray in place of Ramires. 46′ Substitution L. Tejada R. Nurse 46′ Substitution Ramires Hernanes 46′ Substitution Marcelo Maxwell 46′ Substitution Daniel Alves Maicon 46′ Assist Neymar 46′ Goal Hulk ITS 3-0 RIGHT AT THE START OF THE SECOND HALF! Neymar controls a long ball beautifully, and does even better to backheel the ball to match the run of Hulk into the area. Hulks finish is then immaculate, using that left foot cannon to arrow a low shot into the far side of the goal! 46′ HULK! INCREDIBLE! 46′ Here we go again! Brazil werent at their best, but in truth they never had to be to amass this two goal lead. Neymar broke the deadlock with a stunning free kick, before an ambitious long range strike from Alves doubled the home sides lead minutes before the break. Panama have a LOT to do to get back in this game. Stay tuned for the second half in just a bit. 45′ The free kick comes to naught, and with no stoppage time signaled by the fourth official, the referee instead blows for half time. 44′ Yellow Card Armando Cooper 44′ Yellow Card Neymar 44′ The referee goes in with authority during a scuffle between both sets of players, who are busy arguing over a Brazil free kick. He waves a yellow card in the direction of Cooper . Soon after, its all smiles and hugs as the players put that incident behind them. 42′ Two - nil now to the home side, and to be honest, I have to dig very deep to see then abandoning this winning position now. Panama have not created anything genuine in front of Cesars goal, and the Brazil keeper has in fact been camped well outside his box for the majority of the game. 40′ Assist Oscar 40′ Goal Daniel Alves Just when another spell of Blaugrana syndrome seemed set to stricken another Brazilian attack, Alves breaks the monotony of patient passes around the 18 yard area with a lashed effort from 20 yards into the far bottom corner! He hit that full on his toe almost, and it simply bounced past the despairing dive of McFarlane! 39′ CRACKER FROM DANI ALVES! 37′ Half time is fast approaching here, and Brazil try to ramp up the pressure once again, playing in a series of corner kicks that have Panama once again packed inside their own box to defend. None of them come to anything though, but Brazil are still bossing possession in the opposition half. 35′ Panama finally earn a measure of respite, as Gomez gets forward to find space outside the area, but hes a bit wild with his effort, hacking it over the top of the bar. Brazil are right back down the other end of the field, but Machado gets rid of Alves cross before Neymar commits a foul that ends the play in its entirety. 33′ Panama are labouing to even get the ball near the centre circle, as Brazil have them penned squarely inside their own half. Another corner comes from the Selecao, but once again, its a disappointing deliver,y failing to go near a yellow shirt inside the box. One area that they have to improve on. 31′ Momentum is all with Brazil at the moment as a similarly enterprising attack down the opposite flank sees Hulks delivery narrowly cleared away yet again ahead of the lurking Fred. Another corner to come and Brazil get their centre backs forward, but the delivery is poor, not beating the first man, 29′ BACK COME BRAZIL! No surprise to see the reinvigorated Neymar still burning off the high of that goal, as he sprints down the left hand side, beating his marker and clipping a cross towards goal that Parris just about manages to clear with his head away from Fred! 27′ Goal Neymar A free kick right out of the top drawer from Neymar! He simply curls it past the wall and into the top corner. McFarlane tried to get there, but he cant keep it out, only managing to brush the ball with his fingertips. He timed that PERFECTLY to hop the ball over the jump of the wall! 27′ MAGNIFICENT FROM NEYMAR! 25′ Yellow Card L. Tejada 25′ Panama now have a man in the book after Tejada takes out Neymar right inside the D on the edge of the box. The Barcelona forward had the wind in his sails and the roar of the fans in his ears, running at the defence at full flight. Good free kick chance, and plenty of qualified candidates... 23′ Brazil still have to face Serbia in another friendly before opening the tournament against Croatia on June 12. Its obvious to see why the Selecao chose that friendly given the geographical similarity between both of these players, while tonights game is a clear prelude to their group clash against Mexico. 21′ Brazil probe and play it patiently at the top of the Panama box, but Cooper stands strong in the face of Oscar and wins back possession for the visitors. Moments later, Neymar goes down near the edge of the area and the crowd bays for blood, but the referee is not shaken and allows play to continue. 19′ Oscar is already drenched in sweat, and to be honest, he looks a little gassed. Its not a huge surprise, given the obscene amounts of football played by the Chelsea man in the last two years. Hes played 27 games for Brazil since 2012, and 131 for Chelsea and former club Internacional - including a whopping 64 matches for the Blues in their 2012-13 season. 17′ In fact, its Panama who are the side slowly growing in confidence as the half advances. Gomez angles a deep cross towards Munoz in the box, but Julio Cesar is first to claim the ball. Strange to see an MLS player certain to start for the World Cup hosts and favorites, but theyre doing big things over here in Toronto, with Jermain Defoe also joining Cesar in the ranks of the Canadian side. 15′ Quarter of an hour gone, and not a genuine goalscoring chance in sight. It appears that the Selecao have more than one eye on the start of the World Cup in just over a month. Understandable to not want to risk anything so close to the tournament, but given that its their first match at home in a while, I would have expected a little more oomph. 13′ Brazil are rather suffering from Blaugrana syndrome in the last few minutes. The tempo when they are on the ball has dropped, as they struggle to force their way through the packed Panamanian ranks. As a result, their slow and flaccid possession has made the fans a little restless in the stands. 11′ Yellow Card David Luiz 11′ Shockingly, we see a rash challenge from David Luiz that sends poor Rodriguez crumpling to the ground. The soon to be Paris Saint-Germain man apparently forgot for a moment that this is a friendly, and the referee reminds him to keep a lid on things with a yellow card. Fifty million pounds, hmm. 9′ Marcelo is down on the deck after a tough challenge from Chen, and the physios have been summoned to his side. Hes struggled with fitness at times this season, but his quality is beyond doubt - his introduction in the second half of the Champions League final changed the game in Real Madrids favour. After some treatment, hes back on his feet. 7′ There was a glimpse of an opportunity for Panama there, as Gomez sprung off the ground to meet a searching ball in. His header though drops the wrong side of the far post. Moments later, Dante goes in strong om Munoz to prevent the visitors from getting another sight on goal. 5′ Neymar, with his crazy haircuts and eye-catching style, really is the rockster in this Brazil team. Every touch by the Barcelona forward is greeted with screams from throngs of women in the stands. Hmm, I really hope its women making those high-pitched noises! 3′ Magnificent atmosphere as always whenever the Selecao strut their stuff in front of their own fans. The globetrotting is over for them, after a year spent flying all over the world to compete in various friendlies. There were surely some money-spinning and PR benefits to their world tour, but Im sure that the team are happy to be back home to stay. 1′ Bang! Here we go then! The anthems are ringing out around the stadium, with the Brazilian one enjoyed with some gusto by Marcelo. Were just about set for the jump. Brazil qualified automatically for the 2014 World Cup as hosts, and have since been on an impressive run in friendlies. Theyve won seven of their last eight exhibition games in the last year, including pulsating wins against South Africa and Chile, which showcased the full spectrum and vibrancy of the Selecao attack. Looks like were set for a full house here at the Estadio Serra Dourada in Goiaina. This stadium, and this city for that matter will not be hosting any games at the World Cup though, having failed to advance through the selection requirements of the Brazilian Football Confederation. Today is June 6. Seventeen years ago on this day, we witnessed one of the most incredible feats ever on a football field. Im talking of course about Roberto Carlos Newton-defying free-kick against France in the Tournoi de France back in 1997. Neymar is usually the man with the plan in attack for Brazil, and should he plunder a hat trick today, he will equal the goal tallys of Selecao legends Ronaldinho and Jairzinho, who both stand on 33 strikes for the national side. And the Barca man is only 22 years old. Panama themselves werent that far away from a spot in this summers showpiece, but they failed to beat United States by the requisite margin, which would have seen them usurp Mexico into the final playoff spot in Concacaf. As it is, Panama remain without a World Cup appearance in their history. Panama have also opted for a rather ambitious lineup, with the likes of Nelson Barahona and Nicholas Munoz Javris trusted to do the heavy lifting up front. Still, its going to be a tough ask for the Central Americans against a side that many have tipped to clinch the World Cup on their own soil. A strong lineup put forth by Scolari here, one that may very well remain unchanged to start the tournament against Croatia should things go according to plan this evening. Its the standard Selecao front three of Hulk, Fred and Neymar, while Toronto FCs Julio Cesar also continues in goal - one of only two players in the XI not to be based in Europe. PANAMA: McFarlane; Torres, Rodriguez, Parris, Chen; Henriquez, Cooper, Gomez, Quintero; Barahona, Munoz. BRAZIL: Julio César; Dani Alves, David Luiz, Dante, Marcelo; Ramires, Luiz Gustavo; Oscar, Hulk, Neymar; Fred. Hello and welcome to live coverage of Brazils World Cup warmup clash with Panama. Im Keeghann Sinanan, delighted to be bringing you all the action as it happens.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 21:53:14 +0000
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