Brazil defeated Austria 3-0 in Vienna on Sunday in the nation’s final warm-up match before opening World Cup group play against Switzerland on June 17. The match was memorable for two reasons: (1) Thank Freddy Adu we’ll have VAR in Russia — Brazil’s opening goal was the sort of break you’d expect the Seleção to get at a World Cup (Gabriel Jesus was four yards offside), but not anymore — and (2) Neymar killed a man.
Every football fan remembers where they were when Brazil suffered humiliation at the hands of Germany during the last World Cup on their home turf. The 7-1 loss in the semifinals was undoubtedly one of the darkest days in the nation’s sporting history.
Last we saw Neymar on the soccer pitch he was crying as he was stretchered off the field in a Ligue 1 match. But the Brazilian is back, and if the Neymar goal vs Croatia is anything to go by, he’s ready for the World Cup.
David Luiz isn’t going to the World Cup, the Chelsea defender left off Tite’s World Cup squad. But that isn’t stopping the Brazilian from enjoying his offseason this summer, making a few friends along the way.
World Cup rosters have 23 players on them. They’re allegedly the best 23 players the country has to offer. So it’s hard to imagine that the United States has over 300 million people but can’t seem to find 23 (or even 11) who are even capable of qualifying for a World Cup (yeah, I know it's not that simple).