It all blew up on June 2 when Neymar published a seven-minute video on Instagram, where he had first been in contact with Trindade, revealing that he had been accused of rape. Even so, Brazil’s ability to concentrate on the task at hand has been hampered by the Neymar rape soap opera. He has been on the losing side in three finals, including the last two against Chile, and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when Germany triumphed. Qatar are the other invitees, for the first time, in the 12-team tournament — a significant opportunity for the newly crowned Asian champions ahead of hosting the next World Cup in 2022. Their Spanish coach Felix Sanchez has described this as a “significant step in our journey towards the World Cup”.

Source: The Express Tribune June 13, 2019 05:03 UTC