Willian praises 'excellent' Neymar amid criticism

Brazil attacker Willian praised the "excellent" Neymar and believes his team-mate is still improving at the World Cup.

Neymar has been criticised for his theatrics in Russia, but the forward has netted twice and provided an assist in four games.

The Paris Saint-Germain star only made his return from injury last month and Willian feels Neymar is only getting better at the showpiece event.

"All of us know how important he [Neymar] is for our team and what his level of quality is," Willian said Wednesday.

"He has been playing better one game after the other as well. Our plan is to continue evolving, improving, until we get to the final if we are fortunate enough.

"He is an excellent player, he can decide a game at any moment in time, we all know that. So I'm also very happy for the way he's been playing."

Brazil continue their World Cup campaign with a blockbuster quarter-final against Belgium Friday.

That will see Willian come up against Chelsea team-mate Thibaut Courtois and the attacker praised the Belgium goalkeeper.

"I think it's difficult to play against him because he is very good and he is tall. But, at this time we have to do something special to score against him," Willian said.

"We know the quality he has but I think we have to do our all to score against him. That's what we want at this moment.

"We have goalkeepers here, they have quality like him – Alisson, Ederson and Cassio and I think we have goalkeepers with a lot of quality."

 

Latest in
Tottenham Hotspur back row (L-R) Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen; front row (L-R) Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies during the Champions League match against Juventus at the Wembley Stadium on March 7, 2018 in London United Kingdom
Tottenham cult hero calls retirement - to avoid 'painkiller dependency'
Thomas Tuchel will take charge of England for the very first time this evening
'He pushed us. It was tough love, but that's Thomas' Former player reveals that the new England manager will be HARD on his players
Arsenal squad for 2024/25 LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: William Saliba of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal with teammates during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Arsenal FC and Olympique Lyonnais at Emirates Stadium on August 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal warned, as Real Madrid are coming for their star next: report
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola holds aloft the Premier League trophy at the Etihad in May 2023.
Quiz! Can you name every Premier League champion... in just 90 seconds?
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: manager Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham Hotspur FC and Micky van de Venand Cristian Romero during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and West Ham United FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 19, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Tottenham star Cristian Romero 'willing to do everything' to LEAVE: report
Newcastle United's Dan Burn battles with Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on February 26, 2025.
I watch every football game on this TV - and it's been discounted by £210 in the Amazon Spring Deal Days
Latest in News
Tottenham Hotspur back row (L-R) Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen; front row (L-R) Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies during the Champions League match against Juventus at the Wembley Stadium on March 7, 2018 in London United Kingdom
Tottenham cult hero calls retirement - to avoid 'painkiller dependency'
Thomas Tuchel will take charge of England for the very first time this evening
'He pushed us. It was tough love, but that's Thomas' Former player reveals that the new England manager will be HARD on his players
Arsenal squad for 2024/25 LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: William Saliba of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams first goal with teammates during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Arsenal FC and Olympique Lyonnais at Emirates Stadium on August 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal warned, as Real Madrid are coming for their star next: report
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: manager Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham Hotspur FC and Micky van de Venand Cristian Romero during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and West Ham United FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 19, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Tottenham star Cristian Romero 'willing to do everything' to LEAVE: report
Newcastle United's Dan Burn battles with Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on February 26, 2025.
I watch every football game on this TV - and it's been discounted by £210 in the Amazon Spring Deal Days
Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi of Spain thanks the fans during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Netherlands and Spain at De Kuip on March 20, 2025 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Arsenal report: Martin Zubimendi 'very close' to shock Real Madrid move