DOHA : The curtains are finally up. The controversies, which dogged the Qatar edition of the World Cup until before the spectacular opening ceremony eve have taken a back seat and the hosts have kicked the ball rolling with full enthusiasm and excitement.

Statisticians have pulled their pens out to jot down every moment of history that will unfold in the coming days and so are the scribes, who will pen down the action on and off the arena.

After Fifa chief Gianni Infantino’s tough talk, even the criticism against the ban on bubbly sale at stadiums has died down and the all-important game of football has begun. Never mind the scarce protests in the European land, Qatar has support from elsewhere and also the world soccer body.

The die-hard fans definitely are not worried about the ‘bubbly ban’ as 99 percent of them are eagerly waiting to see their all-time heroes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in action and not to leave behind Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Junior.

Leaving aside history makers Messi and Ronaldo, who are hoping for crowning glory as it is certainly a last shot at World Cup them, the focus has turned on young guns Mbappé and Neymar.

Of the four, Messi experienced a messy start with Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia and Mbappé signaling that he is very much there for the defending champions Les Blues in a thumping win over Australia.

French star Mbappé has already laid his hands on the coveted cup, but for the Brazilian star Neymar, the dream is yet to be realised.

The last edition of the World Cup was a stage to forget for Neymar. Four years ago he was the point of criticism owing to his theatrics on stage. Brazilian fans are hoping that they see a mature Neymar in Qatar.

Neymar’s unceremonious dives, his unwanted animated rolls on the field, his act of faking injuries, and many more had the football fans fuming during the last edition and also providing a platform for trolls all over the world.

Many also felt Neymar’s so-called theatrics caused the fall of soccer power Brazil then and he was also blamed for causing disharmony in the rhythm of samba.

However, four years have passed and Neymar, who also represents Paris Saint Germain in the French Ligue 1, has matured to gel with his team fellows and that has reflected in the Tite-coached Brazil’s performance en route to Qatar World Cup.

Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, popularly known as Tite, has kept faith in his talented player and the ‘Samba’ boy has also delivered back in the run-up to the Qatar stage.

That’s why, this time around, Neymar has been put on par with seniors Messi and Ronaldo and also the French star Mbappé.

If Brazil is considered the top favourites, it is because the Seleção boasts of an incredibly talented team and seems best placed to end a 20-year trophy drought.

As such everything appears set for a confident-looking Seleção, and from Group G (also comprising Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon) the Samba boys can sail smoothly to the qualifying rounds.

Neymar has been tipped to star in Qatar and in his own opinion, his team is capable of extending its own record number of World Cup titles to six.

“The World Cup is full of surprises. You get teams that unexpectedly get very far even in the competition even if many don’t believe in them,” the Brazilian star was quoted as saying in a recent media interview.

All his recent achievements show that the erstwhile ‘drama king’ has risen above his childish mannerism and is serious about his responsibility to guide his team to the top of the world again.

And now, there is a strong belief among the Brazilian fans that Neymar can’t or will not ‘mar’ the prospects of football’s perennial favourites.