Tite's Brazil thrashes Bolivia as Neymar scores 300th goal

"Ole, ole, ole, ole... Tite! Tite!" It had been ages since a Brazil coach had the pleasure of being hailed as a hero by fans. But that happened on Thursday to Adenor Bacchi, universally known as Tite, only three games after getting the job and winning his third consecutive match for Brazil. Nearly all 30,000 supporters at the Arena das Dunas in sunny Natal, in the country's Northeast, sounded excited about the 55-year-old from the beginning to the end of the hammering of the Bolivians.

The goals were scored by Neymar (10), Philippe Coutinho (25), Filipe Luis (38), Gabriel Jesus (44) and Roberto Firmino (75). Brazil's goalkeeper Alison barely touched the ball during the entire game.

Asked about the reaction of fans in the post-match press conference, Tite held back the tears and looked above as he repeated "thank you."

Neymar's goal was the 300th of his career, according to the Brazilian Football Confederation. These figures include all those he has scored for Brazil, Santos and Barcelona as a professional since 2009. He also surpassed midfielder Zico as the 4th top goalscorer in Brazil's history. Now Neymar only trails Romario (56), Ronaldo (67) and Pele (95). The Barcelona star is 24 years-old.

If Tite's side beats Venezuela away and Uruguay fails to win in Colombia next week, the now excited Brazilian supporters that had feared the humiliation of not even qualifying for the World Cup will instead see their team in No 1 position.

Associated Press