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SALVADOR, Brazil -- Leave him alone.Brazil coach Rogerio Micale has leapt to the defense of misfiring star striker Neymar before the decisive game against Denmark at the Olympic football tournament on Wednesday.With Brazil facing another embarrassing elimination at home, Neymar has come under fire for his poor performances and lack of leadership, but Micale said he deserved respect.Brazil needs a victory to keep alive its hopes of gold -- or even any medal.Neymar will become the best player in the world, we need to respect him, Micale said. He is young. I know that at times he behaves in a way that we may not like, but at his age, wouldnt we do the same things that he does, having everything that he has?Micale said the criticism could hurt future generations of Brazilian players who dream of the national soccer team.If we dont respect our best players, they might not want to be with us anymore, Micale said.Neymar, one of the biggest stars at the Rio Games, was far from his best when Brazil was held to scoreless draws against South Africa and Iraq, results that left the title favorite in danger of being eliminated in the group stage. Two years ago Brazil was thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the semifinal of the home World Cup.Neymar, Brazils captain, was also criticized for not taking a more active role as the one of the teams most experienced players. After Sundays draw against Iraq, he declined to talk to the media, leaving the younger players to try to explain the teams struggles.Brazilian fans heckled Neymar during the game against Iraq, chanting the name of womens star Marta, the five-time world player of the year who has been thriving at the womens tournament. This week, many photos surfaced on social media with fans replacing Neymars name by Martas on Brazils jerseys.They are two great Brazilian players, Micale said. Neymar is a young 24-year-old who still hasnt fully matured. Generally, a player will peak at 28, physically and mentally. Neymar has had to deal with the pressure of being a leader since he was 17 years old.Midfielder Renato Augusto said Brazils struggles at the Olympic tournament have upset Neymar.He remains confident, but he is not happy with what has been happening, Augusto said. He knows of his importance to this group. Everyone is supporting him.We only need a simple victory to reach the next round and remain alive in the fight for a medal, Micale said. We need to stay calm. We only depend on ourselves.Micale said he also relies on the fact that despite not being able to score, Brazil created plenty of opportunities. Things will be different when the balls starts going in, Micale said.Brazil may also be able to advance with a draw, but then would rely on the result of the game between South Africa and Iraq, which also play on Wednesday. Brazil and Iraq are tied with two points each, two less than Denmark. If the teams remain level on points, goal differential and head-to-head results, a drawing of lots will determine which nation advances.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni Swell Flaske Danmark . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Swell Flaske Gratis Fragt . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. http://www.danmarkswellflaske.com/ . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Swell Flaske Butik . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Swell Flaske Outlet .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. England have made five changes ahead of Fiji with Jonathan Joseph, Alex Goode, Semesa Rokoduguni and Teimana Harrison all starting while Elliot Daly shifts to the wing.Eddie Jones delayed the team announcement to Friday as he monitored the fitness of Billy Vunipola, Nathan Hughes and Daly but all three are passed fit to feature at Twickenham on Saturday.Daly, who started at outside centre against the Springboks, moves to the wing where he is joined by Rokoduguni and Goode in the back three while Mike Brown, Jonny May and Marland Yarde miss out. Joseph starts at outside centre.In the back-row Harrison comes in at openside while Hughes is named on the bench with Billy Vunipola starting at No.8.Both were doubts heading into the match with Hughes nursing a lower leg injury and Vunipola upper body soreness, according to the RFU.Henry Slade is included on the bench while Charlie Ewels could make his debut if given the nod from the replacements.Weve picked a side to beat Fiji, England boss Eddie Jones said. Every Test match is an opportunity for us to keep improving and to increase the depth of the squad.Weve made a few changes from last week and those players have a great chance to pput their best foot forward and make the team better.ddddddddddddngland at Twickenham is the game Fiji will have targeted on their tour. They are one of the iconic rugby nations of the world and we respect them enormously.They bring flair and an unbridled enthusiasm to move the ball at pace, with running skills -- if the game becomes unstructured they can be a very dangerous team. Theyll come to Twickenham with no fear and hungry to cause an upset.While we were satisfied with last weeks result against South Africa, there was plenty to improve on. We want a much more complete performance on Saturday - we want to be in total control of the game and tidy-up the things we didnt do well enough last weekend.England:Alex Goode, Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley (captain), Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Chris Robshaw, Teimana Harrison, Billy VunipolaReplacements: Jamie George, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Charlie Ewels, Nathan Hughes, Danny Care, Ben Teo, Henry Slade ' ' '