Mexico coach blast Neymar’s antics as ‘as shame for football’

Neymar antics in 2018 FIFA World Cup last-16 Mexico fixture blasted by Mexico’s Juan Carlos Osorio

Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has branded the antics of Brazil superstar Neymar as ‘a shame for football’ after their FIFA World Cup clash.

Brazil eased to a 2-0 victory over Mexico to advance to the quarter-final stage – while the North Americans fell at the last-16 hurdle for the seventh consecutive World Cup. And despite Neymar netting the opener and assisting the second, the fixture was shrouded in controversy over his alleged play acting when being fouled.

The main incident that’s been highlighted was the stamp of Miguel Layun on the Paris Saint-Germain attacker – which sparked wild scenes on the touchline from both benches.

“I think it’s a shame for football,” he said in the official FIFA post-match press conference, adding that Neymar’s antics had wasted precious time.

“We wasted a lot of time because of one single player. We lost our style in the second half, because of the referee.

“This is a very bad example for the world and the world of football.”

In reference to the defeat, El Tri’s head coach praised the character displayed by his men at Russia 2018 and is of the belief the current core can go on to develop further if given the opportunity to further their careers at a higher level.

“We were able to play quite a balanced game and I think that says a lot about us and our style. In any case, I think we need to keep developing.

“We hope our players can come to play in Europe so they can play every weekend against the best players in the world and then our national team will improve.”