Neymar showed once again that he is an integral member of the Brazilian side as he scored the 72nd and 73rd goals of his international career during a 5-1 friendly thrashing of South Korea in Seoul last week.
Those goals took the Paris Saint-Germin star to within touching distance of the legendary Pele's record of 77 goals for the five-time World Cup winners.
However, manager Tite made sure to play down the importance of Neymar in the squad, insisting the team have enough quality players as they prepared to face Japan in a friendly in Tokyo on Monday.
"I have been in charge of the national team for a long time, and in that time I have made lots of mistakes and also made some good decisions," Tite said.
"We have a new generation coming through and one good thing I have done is to try out a lot of players. Now we are not so dependent on one attacking player."
Brazil’s under-23 team won Olympic gold last year in Tokyo, and Brazil’s last World Cup title came in 2002 in nearby Yokohama in a World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Neymar scored two penalties against South Korea, but he’s no longer the focus of the attack. Three players from the Premier League - Richarlison, Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus - also scored in Seoul. To that mix, add other threats like Raphinha, Lucas Paqueta and Vinicius Junior, and suddenly Neymar is not the undisputed star.
“In terms of the partnership with Neymar, there are others that share the responsibility,” added assistant coach Cesar Sampaio.
