Brazil Takes First and Second Place in the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five Superfinal in Qatar
The world championship final was held for the first time outside the Neymar Jr. Institute; Doha, Qatar, hosted the tournament on May 23 and 24
The Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five Superfinal took place in Doha, Qatar, but the Brazilian teams felt right at home. The country had three teams reach the finals and achieved a 100% success rate, winning the title in the mixed category with Consagrados and in the women’s category with Fortal Bulls.
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In total, this fifth edition of the tournament brought together more than 60 teams from 34 countries over two days of competition: May 23 and 24. The 2022 World Cup was the first to be held away from the Neymar Jr. Institute, which hosted the national final earlier this month. The venue chosen for this year’s grand final was the Qatar Foundation in Qatar, the host country of the next FIFA World Cup.
As is tradition, the champions also had the chance to play against a team made up of Neymar Jr. and his friends. The PSG and Brazilian national team star also took the court with players from the global team—made up of players of different nationalities who were selected through a social media campaign.
The Superfinal left a legacy: X1 is the newest institution in Brazilian soccer. Skill in one-on-one situations made all the difference in determining the champions.
In the women’s competition, Fortal Bulls and Resenha 013 were drawn into the same bracket. Resenha, the 2018 world champion, won easily by a score of 5–0. Both teams advanced to the knockout stage, won their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, and faced each other again in the final—the first time two teams from the same country had met in the championship match.
In stark contrast to what happened in the group stage, the title-deciding match was very evenly matched. With the score tied 0–0 at the end of regulation, the game went to X1. Fran Ferrari, Fortal’s captain, placed the ball against the wall, outran Ivana, and scored the title-winning goal.
“It’s an indescribable, unique feeling. None of us ever expected to go through this,” said Francesca Ferrari, captain of the Fortal Bulls
In the mixed division, Consagrados struggled in the group stage, losing to the Netherlands. But Lucaneta’s team bounced back and improved in the knockout rounds. In the final, they faced the Dutch once again. It was a tense match, with the Europeans taking the lead three minutes before the final whistle. On the very next play, however, Léo Costa tied the score. Ygor was chosen for the X1 and didn’t hold back: as the ball came out, he shook off his marker and scored the game-winning goal.
And there was a performance by Neymar Jr.
It has been a tradition since the first edition of Red Bull Neymar Jr.’s Five in 2016 for Neymar Jr. to participate in the “all-star exhibition matches” against the champions. In the first game, against Consagrados, Ney rallied his teammates and stood out, scoring two goals—one of them with his chest. The star returned to the field against the Fortal Bulls and played more as a playmaker, distributing the ball and setting up a goal.
In November, Neymar Jr. will return to Qatar, this time with the Brazilian national team to compete in the World Cup.
