Neymar to eclipse Pele? It is now a matter of when, not if.
Touted as the heir to Pele's throne long ago, Neymar is only nine goals away from equalling the Brazil legend's record of 77 goals for the Selecao.
Neymar was on target as Brazil made it two wins from two games to start their Copa America defence with a 4-0 rout of Peru on Thursday, taking his international tally to 68 goals.
Often a maligned and criticised figure in the world of football due to his on-field antics – evident when the referee overturned a penalty after conducting a VAR check – there was no doubting Neymar's quality and standing within Brazilian football against Peru.
"It is obvious that for me it is a great honour to be part of the history of the Brazilian team," an emotional Neymar said post-match. "To be quite honest, my dream was always to play for the national team, to wear this shirt. I never imagined reaching those numbers.
"For me it's even exciting, because I went through a lot in these two years that are very difficult, complicated, and those numbers are nothing. The happiness I have to play for Brazil, to represent my country, my family."
Unfazed by the penalty reversal moments earlier, Neymar then popped up and fired a low long-range shot past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese with 22 minutes remaining.
No one comes close to Neymar since his Brazil debut in 2010. The 29-year-old has scored 49 goals more than any of his international team-mates in that period.
While he only found the back of the net once, Neymar was at the heart of Brazil's big moments.
There were flicks, stepovers and moments of trademark Neymar flare – playing a key role in goals for Alex Sandro, Everton Ribeiro and Richarlison. He had a match-best three key passes and five total shots, to go with his game-high seven fouls won.
Neymar is at the centre of all things good about Tite's red-hot Brazil.
Since Tite took charge in 2016, Brazil have scored two-plus goals in 37 of the 56 games under the former Corinthians boss; 66 per cent of those games scoring more than one goal (W36 D1).
Prior to easing past Peru, Brazil had never lost in the 43 previous games overseen by head coach Tite when scoring the opening goal (W38 D5) in all competitions.
Tite's Brazil – building towards Qatar 2022 in pursuit of a coveted first World Cup crown since 2002 – have won nine consecutive games, keeping eight clean sheets.
Brazil has given the football world some of the best forwards and strikers to play the game – Pele, Ronaldo, Romario, Zico, Bebeto and others.
But Neymar is set to stand alone at the summit.
Live – Manchester City lose Kevin De Bruyne to injury in Champions League final
2036 – De Bruyne is being forced off injured!
The City talisman tries to continue but after over-hitting a cross signals to the bench he can’t continue. Phil Foden is on.
2029 – Not a good sight for City. De Bruyne down receiving treatment, but is back on the pitch.
2027 – Chance!
Haaland so close to giving City the lead. The striker is sent clear by De Bruyne and his left-footed finish is well kept out by Onana.
2025 – Inter are giving the City players no time at all on the ball and Guardiola’s men are struggling to get their creative players into the contest. Food for thought for the manager.
2016 – The City owner is here.
2016 – A cagey opening 15 minutes. City are having the majority of possession as expected, but Inter are ultra aggressive and look like they have the potential to be a threat on the counter.
2011 – The fans’ view.
2006 – Chance!
City go close. Bernardo Silva cuts into the area from the right and whips a left-footed shot narrowly wide of the far top corner.
2000 – Kick off!
Inter get us under way in the Champions League final.
1945 – 15 minutes to kick off in Istanbul.
1942 – Walker “will be absolutely fuming” at being left on the bench, according to Rio Ferdinand.
“Inside the blood will be boiling,” he said on BT Sport.
1930 – Haaland getting his eye in.
1920 – City fans back home are also braced for the big match.
1910 – The City players are out on the pitch.
1907 – Guardiola revealed Walker’s omission was tactical rather than injured-related.
“He could be there, it was really tough because Kyle is so important,” he told BT Sport.
1905 – Black smoke billowed over the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in the hours prior to kick-off due to a fire at a nearby factory, but there was no suggestion it would affect the game.
1900 – The City squad are in the building.
Their team bus had to navigate the traffic congestion and perhaps arrived later than ideal, but was still at the stadium by 8.40pm local time, with the game due to start at 10pm.
1835 – The team news is in!
Kyle Walker is on the bench for City. The England full-back suffered an injury scare late in the closing minutes of the FA Cup final last weekend.
Walker did not feature in an open training session earlier in the week and, although the suggestion at the time was his absence was precautionary, his expected place in the side went to Nathan Ake.
Ake was likely to start at left-back, with Manuel Akanji switching to right-back.
Ederson returned in goal for Stefan Ortega, but the side was otherwise the same one that started both semi-final legs against Real Madrid and against Manchester United at Wembley last Saturday.
Dzeko starts ahead of Lukaku for Inter.
1820 – The stadium is filling up, despite reports of heavy traffic on the way to the ground.
1810 – Mario Balotelli won the treble with Inter in 2010 and was a Premier League and FA Cup winner in his three years at City. But the Italian is remaining strictly neutral tonight.
“I’m not going to put myself in one of the two sides,” he said on BT Sport.
1805 – As well as the players, the pundits are also gearing up for a big night.
1755 – Another English side has rather fond Champions League memories of the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Hard to believe this was 18 years ago.
1740 – How Inter would love to have this man in his prime back in their midfield.
1735 – City owner Sheikh Mansour will be at tonight’s game, only the second game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
1725 – City are aiming to match the feat previously only achieved in English football by their cross-city rivals Manchester United in 1999, but how do their two seasons match up?
United lost only three games in their treble-winning season, but a remarkable 21 draws in 57 games across the three competitions in question sees City overshadow them in most other statistical categories.
Excluding the League Cup from both teams’ records and with their 57th and final game still to play, Pep Guardiola’s side have 41 wins (73.2 per cent) to United’s 33 (57.9 per cent), 144 goals to 121 and 25 clean sheets to 20.
They have conceded only 39 goals to their predecessors’ 56, scoring an average of 2.57 per game and conceding 0.70, compared to 2.12 against 0.98 for United.
1710 – Unlike City, Inter know what it takes to win this competition, though. Remember this?
1705 – We know all about City, but how about tonight’s opponents Inter? Let’s take a closer look at the side standing between City and the treble.
Their success is built on their mean defence. Simone Inzaghi’s combative team have kept a tournament-high eight clean sheets in their 12 matches, including five from six in the knockout stages, with goalkeeper Andre Onana a star performer.
They also boast Argentinian World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez up front, alongside two familiar faces in former City striker Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku.
They had a mediocre Serie A campaign, though, finishing 18 points behind champions Napoli to sit third and losing 12 of their 38 games.
City know this is their final to lose.
1703 – The trophy is here.
1650 – Another taste of the atmosphere out in Istanbul:
1640 – Let’s have a look at how both teams got here:
1625 – 52-goal striker Erling Haaland looked in relaxed mood at training yesterday, but says he is not immune to pressure.
“Of course I feel pressure, I would lie if I said I didn’t,” he said.
In fact the Norwegian has only one goal in his last seven outings, but Guardiola for one is not concerned – “I don’t have doubts. If you have doubts about Erling scoring you are a very lonely person.”
1615 – City go into the match as red-hot favourites and Pep Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne both admitted on the eve of the game that winning the competition had become both a dream and an obsession.
“To achieve things you always have to have the correct proportion of obsession and desire. It’s a positive word for the desire and will to win it. It is of course a dream for us,” said Guardiola.
1610 – Our man in Istanbul is inside the Ataturk and has the very precise timings for tonight.
1605 – Less than four hours to kick-off and the atmosphere is building. Both sets of fans certainly seem to be in good spirits.
1600 – Good afternoon and welcome to the PA news agency’s Champions League final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as Manchester City and Inter Milan slog it out in Istanbul.
Aston Villa sign Youri Tielemans from Leicester
Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign Belgium international Youri Tielemans when his contract with relegated Leicester expires.
Villa have confirmed the 26-year-old midfielder will join them on July 1 after four years at the King Power Stadium.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “Aston Villa is delighted to announce that the club has reached an agreement to sign Youri Tielemans.
“The Belgian international will officially become a Villan on July 1 after his contract with Leicester City has expired.”
Tielemans joined Leicester from Monaco in a £40million deal in July 2019 after a successful loan spell during the second half of the previous season, having begun his career with Anderlecht.
In all, he made 195 appearances for the Foxes and scored 28 goals, including the spectacular winner as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 2021 FA Cup final.
He also represented his country at the finals of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and Euro 2020.
Shaw, Brown headline 24-member squad called up for Reggae Girlz camp set for June 11-20
Concacaf Women’s Player of the Year, Khadija Shaw, and Florida State’s Jody Brown are among 24 women who were called up for a JFF camp, the federation announced on Saturday.
Shaw is coming off the best season of her career, so far, for Manchester City in which she scored 31 goals in 30 games in all competitions.
Brown has been instrumental in guiding the Seminoles to a 17-3-3 record so far this season.
The players will go into camp from June 11th to June 20th.
The full roster of players and staff is as follows:
Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Satara Murray, Konya Plummer, Deneisha Blackwood, Tiernny Wiltshire, Tiffany Cameron, Vyan Sampson, Peyton McNamara, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Solai Washington, Kameron Simmonds, Kalyssa Van-Zanten, Trudi Carter, Rachel Jones, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Mikayla Dayes, Giselle Washington.
Crystal Walters (Team Manager), Lorne Donaldson (Head Coach), Laurie Thomas (Asst. Coach) Xavier Gilbert (Asst. Coach), Alyssa Whitehead (GK Coach), Sanford Carabin (Performance Analyst), Will Hitzelberger (Performance Staff), Dr. Gillian Lawrence (Team Doctor), Saundria Codling (Physiotherapist), Devin Lawson (Masseur), Omar "Twin" Folkes (Equipment Manager).
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