Neymar’s gorgeous Santos chip has set the World Cup bandwagon rolling | OneFootball

There’s been something of an errant boyfriend quality to Neymar throughout his playing days.

His antics drive any sane football fan to distraction, from his play-acting that suggests there’s a sniper in every football stadium dedicated to his downfall to the infuriating tendency to make wrong decisions for his career.

Yet he’s always capable of winning people round with a shimmy that impregnates a whole Amazon village or a golazo to make one of those bonkers South American commentators lose their vocal cords.

Neymar has never lost this quality, despite his decline since leaving PSG in 2023. It’s why so many people continue to root for him.

And some of that faith was repaid spectacularly as Neymar rolled back the years for Santos in their victory over Vasco de Gama.

The 34-year-old had already scored the opener, ending a goal drought dating back to December, before making our knees tremble with an impudent chip.

After two Vasco defenders decided to challenge for the same header, an image that should be replayed on 1.5x speed with a Yakety Sax soundtrack, Neymar found himself through on goal.

With a burst of pace not seen since his Barcelona days, the forward raced into the penalty area and drew the Vasco goalkeeper into his orbit.

Many top-level footballers would’ve panicked or visibly shrank when presented with time to think about their next move.

Neymar, by contrast, rose to the challenge superbly. The Santos talisman scooped the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and left his opponent wondering why he’d taken the bait.

It could’ve barely been more elegant had he tiptoed onto the pitch down a sweeping staircase in top hat and tails.

Neymar, who is regaining fitness after knee surgery with an aim of going to the World Cup, directly addressed his critics afterwards from a position of strength.

“Last week, they said I was the worst player in the world. Today I scored two goals, and that’s what matters,” Neymar told SporTV.

“One day you’re no good or you’re ‘retired’; the next, people say you have to go to the World Cup.”

Acknowledging his recovery, he added: “This was my third game of the year and only my second full 90 minutes. I felt some cramping at the end, but that’s just part of the process.”

We’re sure Carlo Ancelotti is aware of Neymar’s double, the eternal question being whether he raised his famous eyebrow upon seeing the lob for the first time.

You don’t become an elite manager by over-indulging sentiment. Ancelotti has already stated he’ll only name players who are 100% match fit in his World Cup squad.

Neymar is already Brazil’s record scorer, but he’ll surely know all about Romario’s controversial 1998 exclusion in similar circumstances.

That denied us the chance to see a Romario-Ronaldo strikeforce on the world stage. Neymar will be determined to avoid history repeating itself.

He’ll have done his chances no harm yesterday, a timely reminder of his unique talent, even if Brazil now possess several other match-winners in the prime of their career.

The discourse over Neymar’s World Cup chances will rumble through to May. Despite some of his past behaviour, plenty will be rooting for him.