Neymar scored one goal and set up two others to help Brazil defeat Panama 4-0 in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday.
Neymar broke the deadlock with a well-struck free kick from just outside the area in the 26th minute, and then sent a perfect back-heel pass for Hulk to score less than a minute into the second half. Neymar also started the move that led to Willian scoring in the 73rd.Neymar's Barcelona teammate Dani Alves had struck Brazil's second goal with a right footed shot in the 40th.
Neymar's goal was the 200th of his career, and 31st with the national team. Despite his solid performance, he said he still has to improve for the World Cup."I'm still not ready. I got tired there at the end," Neymar said. "little by little in practice I'm improving and getting better physically. There are still nine days left."It was Brazil's second-to-last match before the World Cup opener against Croatia on June 12 in Sao Paulo. The five-time world champion will play Serbia on Friday, also in Sao Paulo.
"It was a valid test," Brazil coach luiz Felipe Scolari said. "We have to understand that we haven't played together for nearly three months and we only had seven days to prepare so far. You have to take that into consideration. We didn't play well in the beginning but I liked the team's performance during the rest of the match."
Brazil had been struggling until the first goal and fans had started to jeer their team at the nearly packed Serra Dourada Stadium in the central city of Goiania.Panama was in control and created most of the scoring chances in the early stages, upsetting fans and prompting Scolari to leave his bench several times to talk to his players.