Neymar: Not everyone knows what I went through

Neymar said his tears at the end of Brazil’s dramatic 2-0 win over Costa Rica were “out of happiness” but underlined the struggle he endured to get fit in time to play at the World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward took to social media in the aftermath of the Group E victory to explain why he put his head in his hands and cried after scoring Brazil’s second goal in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to wrap up his side’s first victory of Russia 2018.

Neymar, who had earlier seen a penalty shout overturned by a VAR review, spent three months sidelined with a metatarsal injury in the build-up to the World Cup and Brazil’s opening game – a 1-1 draw with Switzerland – was his first competitive game since February.

“Not everyone knows what I went through to get here,” the 26-year-old posted on Instagram. “I cried out of happiness, overcoming, grit and desire to win.

May God bless and protect us
Ricardo Nogueira pic.twitter.com/yeWHobF7Z4

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) June 22, 2018

“Things were never easy in my life, so why would they be now?”

Having taken four points from their first two group games, Brazil need a positive result against Serbia to make sure of their qualification for the knockout stage.

Neymar paid tribute to his team-mates and insists Brazil remain on course for the latter stages of the competition, saying: “The dream – no, the objective – is still alive.

“Congratulations for the performance, guys. You’re f****** great.”