Neymar 'must learn to deal with boos'

The 20-year-old Santos player found himself the target of cat-calls at St James' Park a fortnight after a similar experience at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium when Honduras' Crisanto was sent off for a tackle on him which earned the midfielder a second booking within seconds of the first.

A section of the 42,166 crowd made their feelings known throughout an eventful 3-2 quarter-final victory for Brazil.

Menezes said: "The booing against Neymar was following the sending-off because he was involved in that incident, and also could be connected with the cultural values of the British crowd in terms of what they expect to see on a football pitch.

"Neymar needs to learn how to deal with situations like this."

However, Honduras coach Luis Suarez put the booing down to the number of spectators backing his underdog rather than anything more personal.

He said: "Really, the underdog is always favoured by a neutral fanbase, so probably today, we had the support of the crowd.

"What we saw with regard to Neymar was a normal part of football. He is so young, he is a phenomenal player - he is 19 or 20 years old and he can go on to conquer the world.

"He is welcome in the world of football and he shows real class, and we need that kind of exceptional player in the world of football."

Crisanto departed with just 32 minutes gone, but with his side unexpectedly ahead courtesy of Mario Martinez's stunning 12th-minute volley.

Brazil made its numerical advantage tell within six minutes when Leandro Damiao stabbed home from close range and, after the impressive Roger Espinoza had restored Honduras' lead three minutes after the break, Neymar levelled from the spot after Jose Velasquez's foul on Damiao.

It was Damiao who secured the win with his fourth goal of the tournament on the hour, and Espinoza's evening took a turn for the worse when he too was sent off at the death for a second bookable offence.

The win secured Brazil a semi-final trip to Old Trafford with Menezes confident it can handle the pressure of being installed as gold medal favourite.

He said: "This is something completely normal. There is always pressure for Brazil whatever competition we are involved in, whether it's the Copa America or the World Cup or the Olympics.

"If we don't win even in a friendly, there is a crisis in Brazil, and this happens at clubs as well.

"This pressure always exists and I try not to over-emphasise it too much within the group."