Japan vs Brazil. International Match.
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International friendly: Neymar scores all four goals as Brazil beat Japan 4-0 in Singapore
Tuesday 14 October 2014 19:16, UK
Neymar scored all four goals as Brazil thrashed Japan 4-0 in an international friendly in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon.
The Barcelona star opened the scoring in the 17th minute and then added three more in the second half to complete a one-sided triumph and earn new Brazil boss Dunga a fourth successive win since he replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari after the World Cup.
As well as moving onto 40 goals from 58 appearances for his country, Neymar was also celebrating a 'perfect' hat-trick, with his goals coming from his right foot (two), left foot and head.
The 22-year-old might even have recorded an even bigger personal haul at Singapore's National Stadium but he saw his early free-kick smash against the crossbar when the game was still goalless.
It did not take the former Santos player much longer to open the scoring, though, Diego Tardelli threading a ball through which Neymar latched onto before rounding Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and slotting into the roof of the net.
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A similar move saw Neymar add a second in the 48th minute as he got in behind a high Japan backline to pick up Philippe Coutinho's perfectly-timed pass and then fire past Kawashima.
Neymar almost turned provider in the 77th minute with a cross that Kaka headed against the bar, but Japan failed to clear the danger and, after Coutinho had picked the ball up and drilled in a shot that Kawashima parried, Neymar was in the right place to side-foot into the gaping net.
That completed Neymar's third hat-trick for his country, but it was not the end of his contribution as he added a fourth three minutes later when he headed home Robinho's dinked cross from the left.
Man of the match Neymar said: "I am so happy that I could achieve this dream. Not in my best national squad dreams did I think of this, I have no words but to thank God."
He added: "Dunga always says that the best way to respect a rival is to do everything to beat them. And we did everything, not only score goals.
"I don't know what my limit is. I only want to help my team-mates in the Selecao, that's the most important thing."
