CASEMIRO left his proud wife and daughter in tears after going from zero to hero for Brazil.
The man faced calls to be subbed off at half-time as Carlo Ancelotti’s men trailed Japan 1-0 thanks to Kaishu Sano’s opener.
Casemiro left his proud wife and daughter in tears after going from zero to hero for Brazil
Casemiro was the Man of The Match Credit: AFP
But the veteran former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss kept faith in Casemiro – and was immediately repaid.
The 34-year-old headed Brazil level ten minutes after the break and put in a
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli snatched a late winner SIX minutes into added time to send Brazil into the last 16 and
But took home the spoils after being named Man of The Match.
His wife Anna Mariana and ten-year-old daughter sobbed tears of joy from the stands after his equaliser.
It was painful viewing the first 45 minutes with Lee Dixon and Roy Keane among those who called for Casemiro to be taken off.
But at full-time, Keane said: “We’ve been critical of Casemiro defensively, but we do know he’s a goal threat, always in the box.
“The delivery, and not just that, Casimiro… He sees it all the way, but his timing, my goodness, his timing is fantastic.
“Then again, we shouldn’t be surprised because he’s scored so many brilliant goals for United, he is an aerial threat.
“He’s like a striker in there, his instinct in the box is like a top striker.”
It comes after Keane initially said: “They give the ball away cheaply, but there’s still a long way to go.
“This is the bit that’s frustrating for me, you see , his first movement is to come out.
He faced calls to come off at half-time Credit: Getty
“He’s got to be backtracking, protecting the goal, he’s got to be slowing the player down.
“He’s an experienced player but it’s no good having all that experience if he’s not going to use it.
“Credit to the attacking midfielder, very, very good, but Casemiro almost guided him to go past him.
“He had to stay goal-side. Just keep backtracking, slow him down and get numbers around you.
He levelled the game at 1-1 Credit: Getty
“Well deserved, a very good strike. But from Brazil’s midfield point of view, nowhere near good enough.
“I’d be surprised if he comes out for the second-half.”
Ancelotti said after the win: “At half-time I told the players to be patient because sooner or later we would score.
“What was important was to keep our structure. We know we’re going down the right path and we have to continue on this path.”
Brazil will play the winner of tomorrow night’s showdown between Norway and the Ivory Coast.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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