On the 80th minute of what had been a very frustrating scoreless game for Brazil, Costa Rican defender Johnny Acosta fell after being hit by the ball on his stomach during a Brazilian attack, although replays showed that Acosta may have been faking the injury just to waste time. Keen on continuing the play Neymar was trying to move the ball forward, but the referee had stopped the play by then. A frustrated Neymar punched the ball very hard in a moment of severe resentment which did not sit well with the referee, and he was given a yellow card for poor sportsmanship (Marca, 2018).

Although Brazil went on to win the game 2-0, and his yellow card did not make a significant difference in the end, Neymar came very close to suspension throughout the rest of the tournament as receiving two yellow cards would equate a one-game suspension. In the crucial quarter final game against Belgium, Neymar was close to seeing the second yellow card of the tournament for potential diving, which would mean missing the semi-final (Wilson, 2018). Brazil never made it to semi-final, but one can imagine the significance of a scenario of Brazil playing in the semi-final without Neymar. This is a lesson for every footballer in the world – never pick up an unnecessary yellow card that is preventable because you never know when you will get that second yellow card that may not be so avoidable.

In a 2018 World Cup first round game, Neymar’s skills, and emotional intelligence were thoroughly tested by the Costa Rican defense. This was a critical game for Brazil who lost two points in their first game against Switzerland in a 1-1 draw. From an unbeatable goalkeeping performance by Keylor Navas, a frustratingly defensive tactic by Costa Rica, to time wasting and faking injuries by Costa Rican players, Neymar’s patience was put to the test in this game in so many ways. It was almost obvious that the Costa Rican game plan was to waste time and frustrate the Brazilians every way possible, and for the better part of the game this strategy proved to be very effective.