The Fiorentina goalkeeper could not get close to Bressan’s header in the eighth minute, the ball just out of his reach when diving full length to his left. After that early goal he had very little to deal with as Belarus rarely threatened the Brazil goal but he had to be alert to claw Bressan’s speculative curling effort out of the top corner on the hour mark.
Playing on his home ground seemed to give Rafael a boost in his confidence as he regularly embarked on marauding runs down the right wing, however his final delivery often lacked accuracy or was too strong for his team mates to get onto.
He handled the runs of Kornilenko well and gave the striker very little chance to turn and threaten the Brazil goal. He was solid in the air when the ball was played up towards the Belarus front man and his ball skills were exemplary in distributing the ball to his midfielders.
Showed a distinct lack of match fitness in the opening minutes as he failed to pick up the run of Bressan in the lead up to Belarus’ opening goal. After that he seemed to improve with the support of Thiago Silva alongside him helping him through.
He coped with Aleksievich’s runs down the right well and gave good support to Neymar down the Brazil left. His reliance on his left foot let him down a couple of times, especially once in the first half when a chance really opened up for him inside the Belarus penalty area but he had to turn back onto his left and the chance had gone.
The more defensive of Brazil’s midfield he had a solid game and pushed forward whenever the opportunity arose, showing excellent close control to dance through challenges on a number of occasions. He was replaced by Ganso in the 64th minute.
Everything he did was simple and inch perfect, he rarely gave the ball away and kept his side moving forward at every given opportunity. He complemented the attacking flair of Oscar perfectly and provided a real calming influence in the Brazil midfield.
He had the company of Dragun throughout the match when Brazil were on the attack, so much so that at times he was forced to drop a little deeper to get the ball and to shoot from long distance which Gutor was able to deal with easily. He called the keeper into action again early in the second half with a powerful drive coming at the end of a mesmerising run, but Gutor was equal to it and able to tip the ball over the bar. He rounded off an excellent performance with the third goal in injury time after a deft back heel from Neymar.
He has the tricks, he has the flicks but he also showed he can do the simple things well with a sublime cross onto the head of Pato in the 15th minute. He continued to impress throughout the game with neat link up play, an outrageous attempt from just inside his own half and a sublime 65th minute free kick which curled into the top corner of Gutor’s goal. His technique was perfect as he lifted the ball up and over the wall from the edge of the penalty area and placed it just out of the reach of the Belarus keeper.
There is no doubt he is a beast of a man which very little can stop when he gets up to full speed but he does have a tendency to go down quite easily and this won him little from Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura. He wasted a couple of good opportunities with wayward shooting and poor decision making. He was replaced by Danilo in the closing minutes.
Was given a start instead of Leandro Damiao and he justified his selection in the 15th minute as he made a fantastic run to get on the end of a Neymar cross to bring Brazil level. His constant movement was a real problem for the Belarus back line but his chances in front of goal were limited after his equaliser. He was replaced by Lucas in the 85th minute.
He replaced Hulk in the closing minutes.
The Manchester United target was given a rousing reception as he replaced Pato with five minutes to go, but he didn't have much time to show the crowd what he can do.
He was introduced in place of Sandro in the 64th minute to give Brazil even more attacking threat from midfield.
The keeper was called into action on a regular basis as Brazil launched attack after attack but he dealt with most of what was fired at him well. He was also excellent in commanding his penalty area with some good decision making to collect crosses from both wings off the head of his defenders. Pato’s header was from such a close range that there was nothing he could do about it, and not many keepers in the world could have got close to Neymar's superb free kick.
One of the three central defenders employed to negate the front three of Brazil, however their pace caused all kinds of problems and it Kuzmenok who Pato beat to the ball to head Brazil level in the 15th minute.
Playing in the middle of the back five he orchestrated things well, and showed he is a good reader of the game with some crucial interceptions on the edge of his own penalty area. His reaction to deny Oscar in the second half was particularly impressive, reading Pato’s header back towards the new Chelsea man brilliantly and deflecting the ball over the bar when a goal looked inevitable.
Having to deal with forwards with the skill of Neymar, Hulk and Pato cannot be easy but he did well and stuck to his task throughout the game. Very little got past him and when required he made some good headed clearances to clear from dangerous positions.
The Belarus captain was the most defence minded of their midfielders, playing almost in front of the three central defenders to try and nullify the threat of Oscar.
He will be a tired man tonight after running his socks off trying to close down the space the Brazil midfield had to work in. He spent the majority of the game on defensive duty, with very few chances to break forward and support Kornilenko.
The midfielder gave his adopted country a perfect start against his country of birth with the opening goal in the 8th minute of the match, he ghosted into the penalty area to head home Kozlov’s cross from 15 yards out.
The idea of a right wing back is to push forward whenever possible but when Neymar is playing on the left side for the opposition you have less opportunity to do so. On one of his rare forays into the Brazil half he created the opening goal for Bressan with an inch perfect cross for the midfielder to head home. He was replaced by Gavrilovich in the 80th minute.
He had some success down the left side, he was able to push on and keep Rafael in more defensive positions at times and when the roles were reversed he gave the Brazilian full back little room to deliver anything dangerous.
Playing a lone striker for a team that doesn’t have much possession is a tough ask and he struggled to get into the game at times. He showed good movement to give Thiago Silva and Juan plenty to think about and give Bressan room to run into and cause problems. He was replaced by Zubovich in the 78th minute.
A good performance in midfield but he spent the majority of his game chasing the ball and closing down his Brazilian opponents. Like Baga he was a willing runner and pressed the Brazil midfield at every opportunity but at times it was a thankless task. Was replaced by Voronkov in the 70th minute.
He replaced Kozlov in the 80th minute but struggled to get into the game.
He replaced Aleksievich in the 70th minute and continued the hard work in the centre of midfield but Brazil's dominance was too much for him at times.
He replaced Kornilenko in the 78th minute and was full of running, but his was unable to test Neto.
| Tournament | |
| Position | |
| Ranking |
| Rank/Player | Position | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. M. Fabián | Midfielder | Mexico U-23 | 4.00 |
| 2. Neymar | Striker | Brazil | 3.67 |
| 3. Oscar | Midfielder | Brazil | 3.60 |
| 4. Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.50 |
| 5. O. Peralta | Striker | Mexico U-23 | 3.50 |
| 6. Leandro Damião | Striker | Brazil Under 23 | 3.50 |
| 7. Rômulo | Midfielder | Brazil Under 23 | 3.40 |
| 8. Yuki Otsu | Midfielder | Japan Under 23 | 3.38 |
| 9. Tom Cleverley | Midfielder | England | 3.25 |
| 10. Marcelo | Defender | Brazil | 3.25 |
| 11. J. Corona | Goalkeeper | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 12. Jorge Enríquez | Midfielder | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 13. J. Aquino | Defender | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 14. Scott Sinclair | Midfielder | Great Britain U-23 | 3.17 |
| 15. Koo Ja-Cheol | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.17 |
| 16. Hulk | Striker | Brazil | 3.13 |
| 17. Steven Caulker | Defender | Great Britain U-23 | 3.13 |
| 18. Juan Mata | Striker | Spain | 3.00 |
| 19. Aaron Ramsey | Midfielder | Wales | 3.00 |
| 20. Daniel Sturridge | Striker | England | 3.00 |
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Leandro Damião Striker Internacional |
6 | 0 |
|
Moussa Konaté Striker Krasnodar |
5 | 0 |
|
O. Peralta Striker Santos Laguna |
4 | 0 |
|
Giovani dos Santos Striker Mallorca |
3 | 1 |
|
Neymar Striker Barcelona |
3 | 1 |
