Tite had previously encouraged patience with regards to Neymar's fitness, and the Paris Saint-Germain forward produced some magic on his return to the Selecao's starting line-up. Brazil played their final pre-World Cup friendly against Austria on Sunday and showed their attacking flair with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Philippe Coutinho.
The Selecao will now fly to Russia fresh from victories over Croatia, Austria,Russia and the defending world champions, Germany. A metatarsal injury suffered in February has kept the nation's talisman on the sidelines, and initially there were concerns he wouldn't be fully fit by the time Brazil lined up against Switzerland in their tournament opener.
His goal was a work of art, the former Barcelona forward showing incredible balance as he twisted and turned inside the penalty area before leaving Aleksandar Dragovic on the floor with a sumptuous Cruyff turn. The on-rushing Heinz Lindner could do nothing to stop Neymar from slotting the ball into the bottom far corner of the net.
Jesus' opening goal was offside, and whilst VAR will ensure this doesn't count once the tournament begins, it showed that Brazil finally now have a natural centre forward. It was his 10th goal since being handed his international debut, and he remains the top scorer since Tite took charge of the team.
Expectations are always high for Brazil ahead of an international tournament, yet it must be remembered they haven't tasted success on this stage since 2002. Tite can feel encouraged by his team's performance on Sunday, especially with the Austrian side having beaten Germany 2-1 in a recent friendly.

Source: Marca

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