Brazil's fitness coach expects Neymar to sharpen up

Marcos Seixas, a fitness coach for Brazil's Olympic squad, believes a sub-par physical condition is inhibiting Neymar's performances for his country but backed the Barcelona star to improve.

Brazil captain Neymar failed to impress during his country's opening Rio 2016 match against 10-man South Africa, the forward not making a notable impact throughout 90 minutes of the 0-0 draw to raise questions over his pre-season condition.

Seixas explained the ex-Santos man is lacking the fitness levels he would experience during regular-season competition, due to the early stage of preparation he is in.

"He hasn't got any momentum going," Seixas said.

"He doesn't have any because this was his second game of the season. I believe that the next couple of games will help his performance levels."

Seixas, however, insisted Neymar will be able to get up to speed and help his country try to win a long-awaited gold medal due to his sheer ability.

"Physically and technically he is gifted, and due to this he should be able to get back into shape quickly," he added.

"The little moments make the difference when you are talking about a player who is at the peak of his fitness, he will do more than those who have 30 or 35 games under their belts already."