Barcelona superstar Neymar captained his national side to a narrow 1-0 win over fellow South American side Colombia in an international friendly on Friday, scoring the winning goals thanks to an 83rd minute well-taken free-kick.
The 22-year-old Blaugrana ace wore the armband after he was named skipper by new coach Dunga, replacing 29-year-old Paris Saint-Germain center-back Thiago Silva.
The Brazil vs Colombia clash, though being a friendly, was from far it, as seven players were booked during the 90 minutes, whilst Los Cafeteros' Fiorentina attacker Juan Cuadrado saw red after picking up his second booking of the night in the 50th minute.
Neymar captained Brazil to a 1-0 win over Colombia, scoring the winning goal through a well-taken free-kick
Neymar scored for Brazil in a 1-0 win over Colombia in a friendly on Friday. He has 36 goals for Brazil, 6th-most in team history.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 6, 2014
Neymar celebrating his goal vs Colombia pic.twitter.com/HAdLtBJ7Tt
— Luberto (@TheBarcaStalker) September 6, 2014
WATCH Neymar's 83rd minute strike (video by CBF TV)
One of the most interesting moments of the game happened before the game had even started when the two respective nations' captain met to shake hands; Neymar and Juan Zuniga.
The Napoli full back had infamously ended the Brazilian star's World Cup run after kneeing the player in the back during their quarter-finals encounter, fracturing the Brazilian's vertebra. Despite Zuniga being on the receiving end of racial ace and death threats, the Brazil number 11 looks to have forgiven the Colombian defender as the two shared a warm hug before kick off.
The game also saw 28-year-old striker Radamel Falcao's first match in a Colombia shirt ever since his serious knee injury that kept him out of the World Cup in Brazil, making a 15 minute cameo in the friendly held in Miami.
Zuniga and Neymar met for the first time since the Colombian defender fractured the Brazilian ace's vertebra at the World Cup
The two shared this warm hug prior to kick-off
All is good between Neymar and the man who knocked him out of the World Cup, Zuniga: https://t.co/4Hgpt5WtDO
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) September 6, 2014
The game saw Radamel Falcao wear a Colombia jersey for the first time since his serious knee injury back in January
The former Santos ace's free kick strike, seven minutes from time, awarded newly-appointed Brazil coach Dunga three points in his first game in charge since making a return to the Selecao hot seat after Luis Filipe Scolari's resignation, something the 50 year-old Brazil boss was very pleased about.
"It is always good to win, especially with the criticism after the World Cup, some of which was very strong," Dunga stated.
"This will help the players to regain self-esteem and confidence."
