As Neymar slotted in a free-kick, sending a right-footed shot through the wall and into the bottom right corner of the net in their quarter-final clash against Colombia on Saturday, the Barcelona star provided a potent reminder to the world, and especially to his own country, of his calibre and class.
The 24-year-old, who is wearing the famed No. 10 jersey, arrived at the Rio Olympics as the single biggest name in the tournament. But, Neymar had disappointed in the first two games, when the title favourites were held to scoreless draws by South Africa and Iraq.
After two flops with the team looking in complete disarray, Neymar was at the receiving end of criticism from the fans and media, who questioned his leadership skills and wondered whether he was the right choice to wear the captain's armband.
With the team in danger of another embarrassing home elimination two years after that crushing 7-1 loss to Germany at the World Cup in 2014, Neymar finally came to the fore in Brazil's must-win last group game against Denmark last Thursday, setting up two goals in a 4-0 win. Against Colombia, he scored a goal and constantly created opportunities, despite being harassed by the opposition, nearly every time he touched the ball.
Neymar skipped the Copa America Centenario earlier this year so he could play in the Olympics to power Brazil to an unprecedented gold, which is the only significant trophy the football crazy nation has never won in football. Interestingly, Neymar was in the team that lost the final to Mexico at the 2012 Olympics in London.
With another chance at gold in sight, Brazil will play Honduras in Wednesday's semi-final at the Maracana Stadium, which will be the team's first game in Rio de Janeiro. Germany and Nigeria play the other semi-final in Sao Paulo.
Quarter-final results
- Germany 4 (Serge Gnabry, Mattias Ginter, Davie Selke, Philipp Max) beat Portugal 0
- Nigeria 2 (Mikel John Obi, Aminu Umar) beat Denmark 0
- Honduras 1 (Alberth Elis) beat South Korea 0
- Brazil 2 (Neymar, Luan) beat Colombia 0
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