The Brazilian cult hero has arrived. After fracturing his metatarsal playing for PSG in the club season, Neymar found himself in a race to be fit for the World Cup, and while he was eventually given the green signal by the medics, it was evident in the group stage matches that the winger still lacked sharpness. Against Mexico, however, he was back to his best. Neymar drew a lot of negative attention last night for some of his unnecessary showboating and his exaggerated reactions to tackles- both of the criticisms are unwarranted. Neymar is Brazil’s best player by any metric, and the Brazilians are the global ambassadors for skills and tricks in football- so if Neymar doesn’t showboat, who will? Secondly, regardless of the number of extra rolls he takes for every nudge of a tackle, Neymar is still the most fouled player at World Cup 2018. In 2014, he left the tournament injured due to a horror tackle, and is just coming back from a long injury- the number 10 does not want to take any chances this time- so his exaggerated reactions are his way of protecting himself from defenders who resort to physicality to deal with the diminutive winger. The game was largely uneventful until Neymar sparked into life in the 25th minute to turn Mexican defender Edson Alvarez inside out and dispatch a shot. His back heel one-two with Willian was exquisite, as it set him up to score the opener. Neymar kept going at the Mexican defence, holding up the ball well and winning free kicks as Brazil looked to hold their 1-0 lead. Neymar then made another bursting run forward, setting up Firmino in the 89th minute to seal the game. The Brazilian was on fire last night and caught a lot of eyes with his performance and his look, as he changed his hairstyle for the third time this World Cup. This one though, seems to be the charm, as he now looks like the man Brazil need to lift the trophy.