Neymar 4 - Japan 0

October 15, 2014 | 11:52

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The friendly match between Japan and Brazil in Singapore turned into the Neymar show as he netted all four goals.

SINGAPORE: The clash between Japan and Brazil on Tuesday (Oct 14) turned into the Neymar show, with the skipper scoring all four goals in his side's 4-0 victory. The Barcelona striker grabbed his first goal in the 17th minute, latching onto a through ball and rounding Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima.

He collected his second at the start of the second half, taking a defence splitting pass from Philippe Coutinho and placing the ball beyond the keeper. Japan striker Shinji Okazaki missed a chance to reduce the deficit when he slammed his shot against the upright.

Neymar completed his hat-trick in the 77th minute when Kawashima could only parry Coutinho's shot onto the path of the Brazil star for an easy tap-in. And three minutes later, the stadium erupted again when Neymar scored his fourth with a header off Kaka's cross.

The thrilling match played out in front of a 51,577-strong crowd, which brought the Kallang Wave to the new National Stadium. However it was the sandy and patchy pitch that got tongues wagging. Brazil's coach Dunga said post-match that the pitch was still quite bad and it could have been a "more beautiful spectacle" if the conditions were better. Japan's coach Javier Aguirre said the field did not affect his players' game.

Management of the Singapore Sports Hub had insisted that the pitch was in better shape, after they had invested S$1.5 million in lighting technology to help nurture the hybrid turf.

However, Sport Singapore - the governing body for local sport - issued a strong statement on Tuesday, saying the pitch was "sub-standard" and that it would not be paying for use of the pitch until the issue is resolved.

CNA, AP

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