By Nick Mulvenney
MIAMI, June 24 (Reuters) - Neymar Junior returned to Brazil's colours after a gap of 981 days on Wednesday, coming on as a substitute for his 14th World Cup match as the Selecao eased into the Round of 32 with a 3-0 victory over Scotland.
Derided this week by Brazil's president as a "work-from-home" player after his five-week layoff with a calf injury, the 34-year-old forward played 20 minutes in his first international outing since late 2023.
His star has faded in comparison to those
of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in that time, but he remains a totemic figure in Brazilian football and there were chants of "Neymar! Neymar!" as he warmed up after Brazil had gone 3-0 up on the hour mark.
The match against the Scots was already clearly won when coach Carlo Ancelotti finally gave him the nod to replace Matheus Cunha up front in the 76th minute, triggering another huge ovation from the Brazilian fans.
As well as his prodigious skill, Neymar is Brazil's most prolific international goalscorer, having found the net 79 times for his country in 129 matches over 16 years since his debut in 2010.
That the 80th never looked like coming in his brief cameo at Miami Stadium will not concern Neymar or the experienced Ancelotti, who is aiming to win Brazil a sixth World Cup.
Where once Brazil would have looked to Neymar alone for inspiration in the last third of the pitch, they now have the sublime talents of Vinicius Junior.
The 25-year-old, who terrorised the Scots with his pace and touch, will consider himself unfortunate not to have walked away with a first World Cup hat-trick for a Brazilian since Pele in 1958.
Ranging across the frontline until he moved to the left wing to make room for Neymar, Vinicius accepted a gift from the Scotland defence to tap in his first goal and added his second with a header in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
In between, he dispossessed Jack Hendry and slotted the ball into the net only for a VAR review to rule that he had fouled the defender.
A couple of minutes earlier, he had fired a shot across goal and then turned and waved at the sea of Brazilians in the crowd urging them to increase the volume of their support. They quickly responded to their main man and did.
There were a couple more chances in the second half when he was denied by the goalkeeper but the Scots never looked entirely comfortable when he had the ball at his feet.
Ancelotti's decision to recall Neymar for the World Cup was controversial, but while Vinicius is around, the wily Italian knows the thirtysomething is simply another option up front rather than the main one he was for so long.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Christian Radnedge)
