THERE is more than a bit of irony in the fact that Brazil - the most populous nation at the higher end of world football and one historically blessed with strength in depth - should end up being, basically, about a single man.

And now the guy in question, Neymar, is banned for four games (though it could yet be reduced), you wonder what the Selecao can muster.

Neymar was sent off at the end of Brazil's 1-0 defeat to Colombia on Wednesday, following the kind of nervy melee you would expect given the rivalry between the two nations. He had words with an opponent, kicked the ball hard at Colombia defender Pablo Armero, and then appeared to head-butt another Colombian player. Earlier, he had been booked for bundling the ball into the net with his hand (replays suggest it may not have been intentional). As it was his second yellow of the tournament, he would have been out of tonight's clash with Venezuela anyway; now, barring a successful appeal, he won't be back at all.

For a guy who normally doesn't say much and whose image is carefully managed, he has been hugely polarising. His critics, including Brazilian Ronaldo, say he needs to be less of a diva and maintain control. His defenders, like Barca team-mate Javier Mascherano, insist he needs more protection from officials.

You wonder though if maybe Brazil have compounded matters by making him such a focal point of their side. It was the same story at the World Cup - all Neymar, all the time - but now Brazil coach Dunga has taken it to a new level. His star is given licence to roam and the players around him - Willian, Roberto Firmino, Douglas Costa - adjust their movements based on where he goes and what he does. It's the sort of thing a small nation might do - play for their lone superstar - but it makes Brazil predictable, because if you shut down Neymar, there isn't much of a plan B.

It also winds him up tighter than a drum. His haircut and smile may give off that laid-back surfer boy vibe, but he plays like someone with the weight of the world (or, at least, of Brazil, on his shoulders). According to the referee's report, he abused match officials ("You're trying to make a name for yourself by bringing me down," he reportedly said), while taking huge umbrage when one of them accused him of diving.

A pop psychological assessment might conclude that Neymar finds it easy at Barca, where the attention is focused on Lionel Messi but struggles with Brazil, when he has to carry the side. But that's somewhat simplistic, given that he has should-ered the burden before and, at 23, already has 44 goals for the Selecao.

A more credible conclusion is that he's simply a bundle of nerves right now. And that Dunga, far from making things easier for him, has simply added to it by failing to create a system that can succeed without him.

Now, however, he has no choice and neither do his players. They need to beat Venezuela tonight to be sure of a spot in the quarter-finals. And they'll need to progress without their brightest star, the one who has often felt like their only star.

FIFA won't be getting much praise any time soon, so how about giving them a little pat on the head for the Women's World Cup. No, nothing to do with the decision to play on artificial turf rather than grass: they got enough stick for that one earlier on.

Rather, they expanded the tournament to 24 teams, up from 16 in 2011. And it was something of a bold move as the usual haughty, sniffling complaint about "diluting the quality of the competition" manifested itself from day one.

To some degree, it was the same argument made in 1982, when the shift was made from 16 to 24 in the men's game. Back then, it had a racist undertone, the belief that those poor African and Asian teams would simply be hammered by the mighty old world powers.

Here, it wasn't so much about euro-centrism - Japan are the reigning world champions after all - and it was grounded in reality. The women's game is at distinctly different levels of development in different parts of the world, pitting de facto full-time professionals against women who might train twice a week in dubious conditions.

And, yes, there were some very one-sided affairs - Switzerland's 10-1 over Ecuador, Germany's 10-0 over Ivory Coast - but overall, most games have been competitive. Six of the 36 group-stage games were decided by three goals or more; a lower proportion than at the men's World Cup in Brazil (10 of 48).

What was more important this time around was to be more inclusive. And what we have seen is that many of the favourites have had a rough ride. Only Japan and Brazil won all their group games and both did so by the slimmest of margins. Many of the newcomers held their own.

The men's game doesn't need a giant advertising showcase. The women's game, on the other hand, does, because in many parts of the world the playing field is far from level.

MANCHESTER United continue to be heavily linked with Valencia's Nicolas Otamendi. The Liga club insist they will need to receive the full £36 million of his buy-out clause, while Ed Woodward and friends were hoping to spend more in the region of £20m to £25m.

But here's the thing. Otamendi is 27 years old. We saw him in the World Cup with Argentina and in the Champions League with Porto. He's a very good centre-back with plenty of drive, leadership and defensive skills.

But guess what? While he had a great season at Valencia, it's not as if he was a stiff who suddenly improved in the past 18 months. And a year-and-a-half ago, Valencia paid just over £7m for his services.

Unless you think he is somehow five times better than he was in January 2014, something doesn't quite add up. Either United are being taken for a ride in terms of valuation (that wouldn't be the first time) or the club were half asleep when Porto put him up for sale.

Yes, David Moyes was in charge - go ahead, blame him for everything - but Woodward was around too. And United's centre-backs included Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the time, both of whom were leaving at the end of the campaign.

You get the uncomfortable feeling some of these decisions aren't being led by careful analysis and long-term planning but by knee-jerk reactions and whichever agent the club happen to be talking to at the time.