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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tom Coley

Neymar starts for Brazil against South Korea at World Cup amid injury fears

Brazil manager Tite has included star player Neymar in his side to face South Korea at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The Paris Saint-Germain winger missed the final two group stage matches after suffering from an ankle injury sustained in the 2-0 victory over Serbia.

Neymar has been a doubt for the last-16 ever since after images of his swollen foot emerged. The South American's managed to qualify for the knockout stages without their talisman though, beating Switzerland 1-0 to secure their passage with a game to spare before losing the final game 1-0 against Cameroon with a heavily rotated side.

Tite is fortunate to have a dearth of attacking talent at his disposal with Raphinha, Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Martinelli, Rodrygo and Richarlison all able to fill in for the 30-year-old, but his return/absence for this game remains a big boost/loss.

READ MORE: Why Raheem Sterling didn't play for England vs Senegal in World Cup round of 16 clash

Neymar returned to training prior to the game and hinted at his inclusion for the tie, tweeting a picture of himself back on the pitch with the caption: "I feel good, I knew that I would now."

Tite also confirmed hopes that the PSG man would play earlier in the week, teasing his inclusion from the start: "Yeah,” Tite responded when asked if Neymar would play on Monday. “He will train this afternoon, he will be in the game.”

Brazil are regarded as being the tournament favourites and have impressed so far with back-to-back clean sheets at the start of the competition, first choice goalkeeper Alisson is yet to face a shot on target, very little makes up for the star presence and mercurial ability of Neymar though.

Neymar has 75 goals in 122 international matches including six in 11 World Cup games with three assists too.

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