I'm @tanveer741. This is my first post in this community. On 11 July 2021, we have witnessed the most anticipated final match of Copa América 2021 where Argentina beat Brazil by 1-0 score. In this post, I would like to write about Neymar, the unsung star player of the match and the captain of Brazilian squad.
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The Brazilian superstar Neymar fought alone for his team in the final match of Copa América 2021. All the attacks of the Brazilian team were going ahead of his feet in the D-box of Argentina. But in the end, the victory favors the determination of the Argentine defense. Steady in determination, Argentina did not allow the opponent to score a goal. So Neymar's solo attempt to break the Argentine defense was in vain in the end.
Now let's come to the context of Lionel Messi. He has lost four finals for the team, but smiled at the end of this 5th final. When Argentina repeatedly failed, Messi was always the most talked about.
Messi would lead the team alone on the day of the failure of his teammates. But in the end, if the team does not win the trophy, then the extraordinary performance of a single player becomes worthless. So even after seeing Messi's extraordinary skill, the Argentine fans would always sigh — "What could Messi do alone?"
The way Neymar played in the Copa América final, the Brazilian fans are also sighing. For the 90 minutes (+ extra minutes) of the match, Neymar seemed to attack the opponent alone. Occasionally Richarlison tried to give some effort. But Everton Soares, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Barbosa - all the front-runners were unsuccessful.
Argentina also understood that a lot of work needs to be done to stop Neymar, and Brazil would be in trouble. Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Gonzalo Montiel, Nicolás Otamendi, Guido Rodríguez and Giovani Lo Celso - all tried to stop Neymar throughout the match.
Neymar, who has been the victim of repeated tackles and fouls, was tired of the pain. But in the next moment he thought about the team and stood up again. The ball has touched his feet 84 times. No one else on the field has touched the ball so much, not even Messi.
According to match statistics, Neymar has managed to pass the ball 34 occasions in 41 attempts, with a success rate of 82.9%. He has managed to dribble the ball 9 occasions in 15 attempts, which is the highest among the players of the both teams. Messi has successfully dribbled only once. Neymar has given important passes 4 times, this is also the highest. Messi gave half of it. Neymar has been fouled 5 times by the opponent. No one else has been fouled so many times. Messi has been fouled only once.
So it's normal for Brazil fans to sigh - 'Alas! If there was someone who could think like Neymar and use those opportunities!' Then maybe Brazil's number of goals in the final match would not be zero. And the question - “what could Neymar do alone?” - might not have arisen!
This is an original content on the above topic written by me. I hope everyone will enjoy reading this post, and please share your thoughts & opinion in the comment section.