England v Brazil Tip

The very nature of international friendlies means that I would always be reluctant to take on very short odd punts; near-certainties are less certain when there is less to play for. However, a best price of 7/2 (BetFred) on Brazilian superstar Neymar scoring in a victory for his team seems very reasonable.

England have a pretty pitiful record against the five-time World Cup winners having not tasted victory against them since Gary Lineker scored in a 1-0 win in 1990. Since then there have been eight unsuccessful attempts (D4 L4). Furthermore, Brazil have won 15 of their last 18 fixtures as they get geared up for next summer’s extravaganza on home soil.

The Three Lions showed they remain vulnerable to world class opponents when Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed four in their last match against Sweden in November. Young prodigy Neymar may be at the other end of his career, but he already looks destined for greatness.

Having just turned 21 on Tuesday, the Santos striker already appears to have the world at his feet. Neymar has scored eight goals in his last six appearances for his country and ‘Big Phil’ Scolari has already confirmed him in his starting line-up for Wembley.

The 2012 South American Footballer of the Year has a host of remarkable stats to his name already. He fired 43 goals in 47 appearances for Santos in 2012 and has already added five in five in 2013. We are yet to see a level at which Neymar is not prolific so I will back him to enhance his reputation further in London this week.