Neymar left the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte battered and bruised but relieved after holding his nerve to score from the spot in Brazil's dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Chile.
The World Cup hosts progressed to the quarter-finals 3-2 on penalties after an epic contest had ended 1-1 over 90 minutes and extra time.
And Neymar, the 22-year-old on whose shoulders rests much of the expectation of a nation of 200 million people, survived a crunching challenge from Chile's Charles Aranguiz with the game just four minutes old to play on and show that he could handle the enormous pressure.
"We really suffered. It was pure emotion. My tears after the game were of happiness," Neymar told journalists on his way out of the ground on Saturday.
"We know that it was not one of our best matches but the desire to win and get through to the next round that we showed was huge. It was the most I have ever suffered in football.
"Today I had everything. I took a knock, I had cramp. Now all I want to do is rest."
The striker, who has scored an already remarkable tally of 35 goals in 53 appearances for his country, insisted that he played without fear despite the pressure on him and his team throughout.
"I felt no fear. Fear removes the desire to win. We knew that we would be playing a great team, but there was no fear," he said.
- 'Neymar so strong mentally' -
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With the shoot-out level at 2-2, the Barcelona player stepped forward to take Brazil's fifth penalty.
Had he missed, Chile could have won the tie with their next kick, but he sent his future club colleague Claudio Bravo the wrong way.
