FIFA Confederations Cup 2013: Brazil vs Japan 3-0 - Five Talking Points

The Estadio National Mane Garrincha was packed with fans waiting to lap up the football on display. The atmosphere was brilliant, and noise was at a crescendo. The majority came to support Brazil, and they were not disappointed. The men in yellow showed some of the Brazilian flair of yore, but struggled for considerable parts of the contest. They got goals from Neymar and Paulinho, and even Jo got on the score-sheet. It was a typical Brazilian performance; they outplayed Japan, but were clearly not at their peak.

Here are five talking points from an interesting match of football-

1. The mercurial Neymar

Neymar lit up the tournament with his stunning half-volley in the third minute. It was a testament to his skill and self-belief that he managed to pull off such an audacious attempt. But after the goal, he had a mixed game. His passing was woeful and failed to make any useful contribution for his team. He was stopped three times by the Japanese right-back Uchida when he could have easily gotten past him, but decided to start showboating. The fans would want him at his best all the time, and he must try to be consistently good.