chariskym: Brazil VS Japan

I think this was one of the coolest experiences ever. Period. One of the highlights of 2014 for sure.

When my friend told me that there was going to be a friendly match between Brazil and Japan held right here in Singapore, I could hardly believe it! And when she casually mentioned that Neymar would be playing, well, I couldn't turn it down could I? A chance to see the Brazilian star in action! LIVE! What sane person would pass that up?

By 5:45 pm, I arrived at the Stadium MRT and I spent about a half hour trying to locate my friends as there were so many people there hahaha However, we finally managed to find each other and we all headed towards the stadium. It was quite easy to find our seats so we could settle down quite fast.

Football fans for both sides started streaming into the National Stadium with their jerseys and banners. We weren't allowed to bring any food or water bring in, but we were allowed to buy them from the stalls inside. After lining up for my 100 plus, I settled into my seat, getting comfortable as I watched the footballers warm up on the field.

Everyone was pleased when they saw that the Brazilian coach had already put Neymar on in the first half as I think some feared he would have remained on the bench. Also in the team are three Chelsea players: Oscar, Willian and Filipe Luis.

Right on schedule, at 6:45pm, with the blow of the whistle from the referee, the match started! The ball was tossed all over the field, switching from the Brazil to Japan and back to Brazil again. Samurai Blue showed extreme skill, dribbling past the Brazilians and the ball remained on Brazil's side of the field for the first five minutes or so. However, they did not manage to score as Brazil's defence was rather good.

By the 15th minute, neither side had scored and I have to admit I was slightly disappointed as I was sure that Brazil would have scored by then. There had been a free kick for Neymar but he missed, which added to the disappointment. However, I was sorely proved wrong 2 minutes later as Neymar scored a goal! The crowd erupted in cheers as boards around the stadium flashed 'GOAL' in huge letters in time with the victory music that was blaring from the stands.

I was really impressed by Japan's dribbling skills. They had some seriously kickass moves.

1 minute was added to halftime and Japan was allowed a corner kick. However, Shiotani missed, and you could hear the groans of their supporters ring around the stadium.

----- HALFTIME -----

15 minutes later, the players were back on the pitch and the match resumed. Honda was put in to play for Japan. This caused quite a giggle for me and my friends because y'know. Honda. And also as there was 'Suzuki' on the field too, if i'm not mistaken. We were all like 'when's Toyota coming out'.

2 minutes later, Neymar scored again! This time the crowd went ballistic. Neymar was really living up to his name of the 'Brazilian Star'.

The next half an hour or so was quite heated up as Japan would nearly score. And then, Neymar would hit the side netting. And then, Japan would miss the goal by an inch. It was craaazy. There were also many substitutions for each Japan and Brazil.

And at 8:20, Neymar perfected a Hat-trick when he sent the boll rolling right into the opponents net! Not 5 minutes later, with the assist of Kaka, Neymar scored for THE. FOURTH. TIME.

At this point, everybody was crazy hyped up and the whole crowd in the stadium participated in the Mexican Wave! (this was like one of the coolest parts)

3 minutes were added to the game and Japan almost scored! Note - ALMOST. Pity though! I had thought that Japan would have at least scored a point.

At 8:33 pm, the referee blew the final whistle and the score was Japan - 0, Brazil - 4. #neymar4thewin was trending all over twitter by then hahah

In all, Japan played magnificently - but they were no match for Neymar.