Neymar and James - two No 10s, two nations’ hopes, one collision course

They are both 22. Both wear the yellow No 10 shirt, and when they meet on Friday night, both will carry a nation’s hopes on young shoulders.

They are common denominators, inventive idols, boy-men subject to scrutiny across the world but, particularly in their homelands. Both are flair players who put the ball in the opposition’s net within the space of a couple of hours Saturday. Neymar and James Rodriguez did so in contrasting, but revealing, fashion.

The Brazilian’s chance came first.

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The sense that the hosts’ destiny rests with one man is increasingly apparent, but never quite as simple as when the penalty shoot-out against Chile was tied at 2-2 after four spot kicks apiece.

Up stepped Neymar, put in the most stressful situation. Others have struggled with the pressure. Fred, miscast as the Selecao’s No 9, had delivered another ineffectual performance. Willian and Hulk had taken poor penalties.

If Neymar missed, the team of 2014 would probably be eliminated. The worst-case scenario was that the culprits would become infamous and victimised like Moacir Barbosa, the goalkeeper harshly blamed for Brazil’s inability to win their only previous World Cup on home soil, in 1950.

Neymar scored. Chile’s Gonzalo Jara then missed. Brazil were through.

The way Neymar assumed responsibility illustrated that the silly hairstyles and the showy trickery are merely fripperies.

It underscored that his many commercial endorsements, the wealth that is allowing his father to plan for the family’s financial future for the next five or six generations, are legitimate products of his prowess.

He is no mere marketing tool.

This is a footballer of substance.

The problem is that, while four tests of character have been passed, another three await. His mettle has been examined. So, too, his knee and thigh after he required treatment in the opening salvos of the 120-minute torment against Chile – and it will be again.

It is hard to escape the feeling that, should Neymar falter once, it will be fatal, despite his modest statements.

“I do not feel burdened with the obligation to be the highlight – I have colleagues who help me,” he said. “We are a team. It’s not about one player.” Except it is. Neymar’s sentiments, admirable as they are, would have been better voiced about Colombia. They have impressed as a team, with their coherence, tactical prowess and collective resolve, yet one player in particular has shone: Rodriguez.

At the Maracana, the spiritual home of Brazilian football, the Colombian provided the moment of the tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

Like Neymar’s spot kick at Belo Horizonte, the prelude came in the form of a look. The Brazilian raised his head, took stock of Chile’s goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and the net, staring failure in the face.

He scored and succeeded.

Rodriguez, before volleying in the goal of the World Cup against Uruguay, had the composure to glance over his shoulder. It showed an awareness of space, an appreciation that the unlikely was feasible, that led him to the lovely left-footed strike.

It was an instant to epitomise Colombia. Because of their talent and ambition, the improbable is becoming possible.

They have been arguably the outstanding side of this World Cup.

And Rodriguez, the only man to score in every game, perhaps its finest player. His five-goal, two-assist performance has thrust him to greater prominence, and now he is being bracketed with Neymar and Lionel Messi, among the handful of most-recognisable names in world football.

His future is seemingly assured, yet this World Cup could be unique. Colombia’s history is proof that such opportunities may not occur again.

This is their first World Cup quarter-final. It is likely to be the last tournament in South America for 16 years. The veteran captain, Mario Yepes, will be 42 when the 2018 World Cup starts.

And so, for Rodriguez and Neymar alike, this is a once-in-a-football-lifetime chance.

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