Tite surrenders to Neymar: "he's one of our greatest strengths"

Victim of a sprained ankle on November 24, Neymar recovered quickly and was one of the architects of Brazil's great victory against South Korea (4-1) in the round of 16 of the World Cup.

Author of a great start to the season with PSG, Neymar wanted to take advantage of his good performances to bring a sixth World Cup to Brazil. However, the Brazil international quickly suffered a blow with a right ankle injury in the first group game against Serbia (2-0) on November 24.

Since that date, the medical team of the Brazilian Seleção has carried out a true race against time so that the Parisian number 10 is fit for the final phase of the World Cup.

With only two collective training sessions in his legs, the Brazilian star faced South Korea on Monday. A scorer from the penalty spot, Neymar found good feelings on the pitch until he left with 81 minutes on the clock.

In a post-match press conference, Brazil coach Tite spoke about Neymar's return. In particular, he explained the importance of the PSG striker in his team.

Tite prasied PSG forward Neymar, sees him as the player able to lead Brazil to their sixth World Cup

"Neymar has technical leadership, other players have other abilities, but he is a technical leader," declared the Brazilian strategist.

"Neymar made the difference on the pitch. He's one of our greatest strengths. I'd like to congratulate our doctors. Neymar was very motivated and the others were very happy to see him again. He's ready for what's next," added Tite.

"With him, our potential is stronger because he improves others through his technique," he finished.

After defeating Serbia by two goals (2-0) in their World Cup opening game and defeating Switzlerland by the smallest of margins (1-0) after that, Brazil suffered their first-ever defeat to Cameroon (1-0). Even then, the Canarinha was able to qualify for the knockout stages in first place, drawing South Korea, and defeating the Asian nation by a sound and solid 4-1 score.

Next up for the Brazilian Seleção will be the quarterfinals against Croatia next Saturday. Rest assured Neymar will be there leading the Brazilian way.