SAO PAULO // Oscar took a dig at his critics on Friday after delivering a "dream" goalscoring performance in Brazil's 3-1 World Cup-opening win over Croatia.
Oscar, 22, had been under pressure in the build-up with many Brazilian media calling for him to be replaced by Chelsea teammate Willian.
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But he recovered from a nervy start to set up Neymar for Brazil's first goal and then completed the win with a brilliant solo strike in injury time.
Oscar, who took time away from Brazil's preparations to welcome his first child, said that the only man whose opinion mattered was the manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari.
"The only person who can take me out of the team is Big Phil," said Oscar, using Scolari's nickname. "What you [journalists] say doesn't matter much. What matters is the opinion of the coach."
After Brazil went behind to an own goal, Oscar's hard work set up Neymar's equaliser when he won the ball from two Croatian players in midfield and put the striker into space.
The Chelsea man's goal was a peach, coming after he ran at the Croatian defence in a solo counter-attack and toe-poked past goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa.
"To make my debut in the World Cup playing so well, anyone would dream about that, but I have to keep my feet on the ground," he said.
"We still have two games to play in this round and I hope to play well again in the next one."
Oscar's performance was so good that Scolari, perhaps mindful of the criticism he has received, said he deserved the man-of-the-match award as much as two-goal hero Neymar.
But Oscar modestly said there was no doubting who was the team's shining light.
"I have a good relationship with Neymar, on the field as well as off it. He's very cheeky and he has everything to be a star as well," he said.
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Expert advice
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Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
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Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
