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World Cup rewind: Why is Neymar always crying?

By Jake Walerius

Neymar of Brazil during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group E match between Brazil and Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 22, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Neymar of Brazil during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group E match between Brazil and Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 22, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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If you haven’t heard, there’s a World Cup going on. We’re here to help, with a daily recap of the biggest news.

Brazil left it late to beat Costa Rica on Friday, Philippe Coutinho poking in the game’s opening goal in the first minute of second half-stoppage time to put the selecao on the brink of the knockout rounds.

Neymar, who added a second soon after, was overcome with emotion at the final whistle, breaking down in tears, a sign either of the immense pressure of the World Cup environment or, more likely, the fact Neymar really likes to cry.

Some people were critical of Neymar, suggesting the tears were merely a publicity stunt. He defended his actions, saying, “Not everyone knows what I went through to get here.” Here presumably being an underwhelming group stage win against World Cup favorites Costa Rica.

Nigeria and Iceland were next up after the Neymar Show, with the outcome of the outcome of the match likely to have a huge bearing not only on their hopes advancing to the knockout rounds, but also on Argentina’s.

Ahmed Musa scored two superb counter-attacking goals to give the Super Eagles an impressive 2-0 win. Their match against Argentina in the final round of the group stage is shaping up to be one of the best of the tournament so far.

Next: The best player on every team at the World Cup

The final match of the day may have been the best of the three. Switzerland became the first team to come from behind to win at this World Cup, with Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scoring second-half goals to cancel out Aleksandar Mitrovic’s early opener.

Both players, who are of Kosovan descent, celebrated with a gesture representing the Albanian eagle, a reference to Serbia’s refusal to recognize Kosovan independence. The managers of both teams avoided comment on what remains a tense political issue.

Saturday’s matches begin in Moscow, where Belgium take on Tunisia at 8 a.m. ET. That’s followed by Mexico’s match against South Korea at 11 a.m. ET. A win will make El Tri big favorites to top the group. Finally, Germany look to bounce back from their opening loss against Sweden at 2 p.m. ET.

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