Sensational teen inspires Brazil to a 3-0 win over Japan at the Confed Cup

The clock showed two minutes and 57 seconds as Luiz Felipe Scolari, who said before the Confederations Cup that Neymar needed protecting as the idol of 200 million Brazilians, afforded himself a tight smile of vindication.

Brazil coach Scolari's policy of simultaneously playing "good cop-bad cop" with the 21-year-old - effusively praising his performances but also pointedly demanding he be "a team player" - paid an early dividend Saturday as the Barcelona-bound forward struck a brilliant goal to underpin a 3-0 victory over Japan.