World Cup 2022: Fans Scramble to Take Selfies With ‘Fake’ Neymar During Brazil vs Switzerland

World Cup 2022: Fans Scramble to Take Selfies With ‘Fake’ Neymar During Brazil vs Switzerland

Fred Kennedy
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:18 PM
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  • Fans were duped into thinking they had gotten up close and personal with Neymar at Stadium 974 during Brazil's World Cup clash against Switzerland
  • A man with a striking resemblance to Neymar Jr was among thousands of supporters who had turned up to watch the match at the stadium
  • The man sported a Brazil jersey, and a white cap had a section of fans thinking that he was Neymar as they clamoured to get a selfie with him
  • It later turned out that the real Neymar was not even inside the stadium during the encounter, as he is currently out injured

A Neymar Jr look-alike caused a stir at Stadium 974 during Brazil's Group G World Cup clash against Switzerland.

Neymar was not part of the team that played the Monday, November 28, fixture, with the Paris Saint-Germain man currently sidelined with an ankle injury.

Neymar, Brazil, FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022, Group G, Serbia, Lusail Stadium.
Neymar of Brazil sits injured during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group G match between Brazil and Serbia at Lusail Stadium. Photo by Markus Gilliar.
Source: Getty Images

According to the Daily Mail, the 'fake' Neymar was caught on camera in the stands during halftime of the World Cup cracker.

Hawk-eyed fans inside the stadium were quick to spot the doppelganger, who appeared to be escorted by security staff in yellow bibs and lanyards.

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Convinced that they had gotten up close and personal with the Paris Saint-Germain ace, fans clamoured to find their phones to take a selfie with the middle-aged man.

Incredibly, it was not just the fans who thought the man was the real Neymar as photo agencies were also caught flatfooted as they struggled to get shots of him and later captioned them as 'Brazilian football player Neymar.'

However, it later emerged that the real Neymar was not even inside the stadium as he continues his recovery journey following a nasty injury, he picked in Brazil's World Cup opener against Serbia.

The 30-year-old is not expected to be fit until after the 2022 World Cup group stages.

As such, he is not expected to play any role for Brazil when they battle Cameroon in their final Group G fixture.

Neymar hails Casemiro

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Paris Saint-Germain ace Neymar Jr led tributes for Casemiro after the midfielder's World Cup stunner against Switzerland.

Casemiro stepped up during Brazil's greatest hour of need to score a decisive goal during the Group H clash played on Monday.

The goal was enough to earn the five-time World Cup winners a spot in the last 16 of the 2022 edition of the global showpiece.

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Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.
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