Richard Buxton: Brazil no longer a one-man squad

Neymar may be the name on everyone's lips whenever Brazil's World Cup dreams are mentioned.

But, truth be told, he is no longer the focal point of Tite's squad.

That ill-fated move to Paris Saint-Germain which made him the world's most expensive footballer, has proved fortuitous for Neymar's homeland.

Unlike their contemporaries in Russia, Brazil will not be in thrall to the fate of one player.

Argentina often appear listless without Lionel Messi, while Cristiano Ronaldo's presence transforms Portugal from a side which should have been consigned to the archives to one which is greater than the sum of its parts.

Their respective clubs have suffered similar fates.

Like his former Barca teammate and La Liga adversary, Neymar was the lightning rod for a Brazil team comfortably past their collective best and trading off their household names off the pitch as much as on it, with 1994 World Cup-winning captain Dunga at the helm.

Rising stars like Roberto Firmino, Casemiro and Philippe Coutinho were not even peripheral figures while Paulinho, who made the final cut four years ago, represented a costly failure of Tottenham's efforts to replace Gareth Bale.

How times have changed for those underlings.

Once again Neymar is battling injury to lead the line for Brazil, but it may be a mixed blessing.

A preoccupation with self-image has intensified and bordered on levels which would embarrass even Ronaldo and Paul Pogba, the game's other leading vainglorious figures.

Petulance has also proved an overarching sideshow during a debut campaign in the French capital and prevented him from making any meaningful contribution at a major tournament, this time as PSG bowed out to Real Madrid in the Champions League's Round of 16.

Most concerning of all, indiscipline has made him a liability, with opponents targeting him throughout Brazil's World Cup qualifying campaign.

He picked up six bookings across 14 matches for his country, while he also walked that tightrope at club level for Les Parisiens.

SECOND FIDDLE

Firmino, meanwhile, has helped fire Liverpool to a meeting with reigning European champions Real, crucially with 11 goals in 14 matches en route to the Kiev showpiece in 10 days.

Playing second fiddle to someone of Mohamed Salah's ability would unnerve most players, but the 26-year-old's willingness has underlined what he brings to the table beyond a career-best run of goals.

He epitomises the hard-work bedrock of Juergen Klopp's impressive Anfield tenure.

Since his single-handed heroics before an adoring home crowd four years ago, that level of self-sacrifice has never been at the forefront of Neymar's contribution to the national side.

Coutinho, similarly, is able to deputise in his childhood friend's preferred role on the left-hand side of attack on the back of a flourishing end to his debut half-season with Barcelona.

In Tite's 23-man squad that was announced yesterday morning (Singapore time), Brazil also boast additional firepower in the form of Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, whose stoppage-time goal at Southampton clinched an unprecedented 100-point haul for the new English Premier League champions.

Like Firmino, his selflessness has been reflected in a lower goal return than his teammates.

At 21, the striker has managed to bounce back from a potentially limiting mid-season injury - and all without the need to make ham-fisted personal comparisons with Stephen Hawking.

Neymar, who missed the 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals due to injury, reportedly could not bring himself to finish watching the humiliation and turned to playing poker instead.

Four years on, he is involved in a high-stakes encounter again, but the odds are now firmly stacked against him.

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BRAZIL SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS: Alisson (AS Roma), Ederson (Manchester City), Cassio (Corinthians)

DEFENDERS: Danilo (Man City), Fagner (Corinthians), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Miranda (Inter Milan), Geromel (Gremio), Marquinhos, Thiago Silva (both Paris St Germain)

MIDFIELDERS: Casemiro (Real), Fernandinho (Man City), Paulinho, Philippe Coutinho (both Barcelona), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guo'an), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk), Willian (Chelsea)

FORWARDS: Neymar (PSG), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Douglas Costa (Juventus), Taison (Shakhtar)