Brazil is ready. Against Tunisia, the Auriverde literally crushed the Carthage Eagles with a 5-1 victory. But will the players remember that from this meeting at the Parc des Princes? Not sure. In a stadium committed to the Tunisian cause, controversies have accumulated on and off the pitch.
Before the match, the atmosphere was electric with smoke bombs everywhere around the stadium. Which is not reprehensible but promised an eventful evening. An electric atmosphere that has been confirmed since the national anthems. The Hino Nacional Brasileiro was heavily whistled. A lack of respect which was very little to the taste of Marquinhos. In footage, the PSG captain is seen shaking his head and glaring at the visibly irritated crowd. When the match started, the whistles continued with each touch of the ball from the Brazilian artists. Still, the South Americans were receiving on paper. But the Maracana was far, far away.
An unacceptable banana throw
In the 19th minute, Richarlison gives the Park a cold snap. While the Tunisian public is still celebrating the equalizer, the striker cools the stadium on a superb pass from Raphinha. The Tottenham player’s teammates surround the player to congratulate him for this goal synonymous with 2-1. On images, we see a banana around Richarlison. A reaction which obviously did not escape Tite’s men. Starting with defender Thiago Silva. “I was sad for the banana throw on Richarlison. It’s not football. Football is regarding supporting your team. On the pitch, we try to give the maximum for our selection, but gestures like that are not good for football.”said the former PSG captain.
Arriving this summer from Manchester United, Casemiro demanded sanctions. “We can’t let this go, it’s very serious. We see this kind of racism, it is inevitable. It is education. We have great power. There must be a very big punishment. Even our president told us regarding it because he is embarrassed by all this. This is unacceptable”. Touched directly, Richarlison hopes that the culprit will be found for “to be punished” so that this “serves as a lesson to all who want to do the same.”
Neymar targeted
Well received in Le Havre during the previous friendly match once morest Ghana (3-0), Neymar had a difficult reception at the Park, to say the least. Quite paradoxical as he lights up the stadium this season with the Ile-de-France residents. As evidenced by his involvement in 22 goals in all competitions since the start of the season (13 games, 12 goals, 10 assists). Targeted by opposing supporters, he was whistled more than his partners during each of his touches of the ball. He was also targeted by lasers throughout the game and more particularly in the 27th minute during his penalty. A preferential treatment which did not seem to disturb number 10 too much, who perfectly took the goalkeeper on the wrong foot.
Beyond his goal, the Ney was also attacked by Jalal Qaderi’s men. However, it was he who received the first yellow card. An arbitration that had the gift of annoying him. “With me, everything is different”, he cursed following the meeting. I suffered a foul in the second period when we launched a counter-attack. The guy catches me and didn’t even get a yellow card. Me, I make a mistake on the defender, without having intentionally stepped on him. Sometimes it takes a little more common sense…”
With all these incidents, what will Tite’s men remember? For Danilo, Brazil will mostly keep the positive. “It was a different psychological test,” he assured in the mixed zone. “We have to deal with all kinds of situations. But it was a good game. We responded intelligently and as we wanted, which is to score goals regardless of the opponent.” One thing is certain, this Brazil is scary. Mentally ready, with a solid defense and an impressive attacking pool, the Auriverde are sure to be one of the favorites in Qatar.
