Coutinho: Playing next to Neymar is 'easy'

With Gabriel Jesus rehabilitating from a fractured metatarsal, the bromance of Philippe Coutinho and Neymar has been allowed to blossom.

Neymar said the Liverpool forward "would totally fit in" at Barcelona when the Brazil squad reconvened ahead of the latest round of World Cup qualifiers, and now Coutinho has praised his Canarinho forward partner for making life "easy" on national team duty.

"Look, Neymar is outstanding as we can all see," Coutinho told ESPN FC. "He is a player that decides key games, a guy that is fundamental on our team.

"We have been together for a long time, since we played together at youth level. Playing next to him is easy, he can change the game easily.

"We give the ball to him and he solves the problem."

In Jesus' absence, Roberto Firmino has been selected to spearhead the attack, and Tite's lot has shown no signs of slowing. Thursday's 4-1 trouncing of Uruguay in Montevideo - which featured a surprise hat-trick from midfielder Paulinho - gave Brazil a seven-point gap at the top of CONMEBOL World Cup qualification, with an appetising visit from Paraguay coming up Tuesday.

"Of course, it is really cool to see that everyone is with us," said Coutinho. "Obviously everyone is following Tite's work - he is doing a great job. So this just makes us more confident.

"As you saw in the stadium, there was a lot of positive energy. So it is really good for us."