Neymar has suggested he may have played his final match for Brazil following their 2-1 defeat to Norway in the World Cup round of 16, a result that eliminated the five-time champions. The emotional 34-year-old scored a penalty but indicated his international career might be over, marking Brazil's worst World Cup performance since 1990.
World champions the United States were dealt a 3-0 drubbing by Sweden to end a 30-month unbeaten run, and the Netherlands put 10 goals past a hapless Zambia on a day of drama as the Olympics women's soccer tournament kicked off.
The view is that the attention on the national team is fleeting, incidental and dependent on the results they produce.
France captain Amandine Henry came to the rescue as the hosts scraped into the women's World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win against Brazil after extra time.
Marta became the all-time leading scorer at the women's World Cup on Tuesday as Brazil vaulted to the top of Group E with a 2-0 win over South Korea, while Eugenie Le Sommer's superb long-range strike gave France victory over England.
