“Neymar came out of training today with a painful right ankle,” said Vinicius Rodrigues, a spokesman for the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

He put the the knock down to the number of fouls Neymar received in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Switzerland in Rostov-on-Don in Brazil’s opening Group E outing.

The 26-year-old could be seen grimacing as he held his right ankle after feeling pain as he took part in a light session for those who had started that game.

Neymar had not taken part in training on Monday, as the side returned to their base in Sochi on Russia’s Black Sea coast.

Rodrigues confirmed the problem concerned the Paris Saint-Germain star’s ankle and not the foot he fractured in February, an injury that required surgery and forced him to miss the rest of the club campaign.

“As soon as he felt the pain he went to the physio. He will stay there for today and tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, and will train as normal tomorrow,” added Rodrigues.

Teammate Philippe Coutinho, whose impressive curling strike put Brazil in front against Switzerland before they were pegged back in the second half, played down concerns among the Brazilian media.

“Today was more of a recovery session and it happened almost at the end. I think he felt a bit of pain but that is normal,” said the Barcelona man.

“He gets targeted a lot. He gets fouled a lot, lots of knocks.”

Neymar only made his comeback from the foot operation as a substitute in Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win against Croatia on June 3.

He scored in that game, and then made his first start since the injury, also scoring, in a 3-0 win over Austria in Vienna just before Tite’s squad flew to Russia.

His return was a huge boost for the five-time world champions coming into the tournament, even if his performance on Sunday suggested that he is still some way short of his best form.

“Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Of course having him in our side is a big plus for us,” added Coutinho.

“He is so important…. He is always creating the play, creating space.”

While the world’s most expensive player battles to be fit for Costa Rica, Brazil are due to travel on Wednesday evening to Saint Petersburg, where they will play Friday’s game.

Cisse conceded there was an element of luck as Senegal benefited from a deflected Thiago Cionek own goal and a terrible error by ‘keeper Wojciech Szczesny, but said the Polish mistakes came through pressure exerted by his team.

“We earned out victory, we worked very hard for it,” he said after the win, which puts Senegal at the top of Group H, ahead of Japan on goal difference.

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak got Poland back in the game with an 86th-minute header but Senegal held on at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium.

It was a match billed as a straight fight between super-strikers Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane but Cisse said Senegal “controlled the game tactically and emotionally” to contain the Bayern Munich dangerman.

He said they would bring the same focus to their next match against Japan on Sunday, when Poland will play Colombia.

“Let’s not underestimate Senegal. We knew this Poland team very well,” he said.

“We knew their systems… we knew exactly how this team was going to move and that Lewandowski was their main threat, and we implemented the right system to play them.”

Poland coach Adam Nawalka was fuming at the performance of his team, ranked eighth in the world to Senegal’s 27th.

“There were many bad elements in the match,” he said.

“We did not match our opponent’s quality. The Polish team will have to regenerate and recuperate.”

Poland are in the finals for the first time since exiting at the group stages in 2006 and are desperate to improve on the third-place finishes in 1974 and 1982.

Senegal’s only previous appearance was in 2002, when they made the quarter finals after a run that included a famous win over defending champions France in the tournament’s opening match.

Cisse said the whole of Africa was closely monitoring the progress of Senegal.

“Senegal today represents the whole of the African continent,” he said.

“Of course we represent our country but I can also guarantee that the whole of Africa is supporting us. I’m getting phone calls from everywhere.”

– Costly blunders  –

Liverpool striker Mane set up Idrissa Gueye in the 37th minute for a shot that took a wicked deflection off Cionek, leaving Szczesny totally wrong-footed in the Polish goal for Senegal’s opener on 37 minutes.

The lead doubled on the 60-minute mark thanks to Szczesny’s howler. Krychowiak put Poland in trouble with a woeful bouncing back pass and the ‘keeper rashly opted to charge out of his penalty area to try to clear the danger.

Instead, the speedy Mbaye Niang got in front of his defender, nicked the ball away from Szczesny and rolled it into the empty net.

It was the always-dangerous Niang who was at the heart of Senegal’s opening goal.

The Torino winger won the ball on the halfway line and fed Mane who rolled it sideways to Everton striker Gueye, whose shot skewed off Cionek’s leg and into the net.

Minutes after half-time, Sane was fortunate not to be sent off for a challenge on Lewandowski when he brought down the Polish striker as he honed in on goal. He escaped with a yellow card.

Krychowiak connected with Kamil Grosicki’s cross to give Poland hope, but they were unable to make up the deficit despite four minutes of injury time.

After a tight first half in a rain-drenched Saint Petersburg, Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi scored an own goal before strikes from Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba sealed a win that erased pre-tournament fears in Russia that the host nation would struggle to even get out of their group.

Salah did score Egypt’s first goal at a World Cup since 1990 with a penalty after he had been hauled down 17 minutes from time, but it was too late to regain the momentum for the disappointing Pharaohs.

Russian football fans celebrate after their team”s victory.

Russia will be guaranteed a place in the last 16, and Egypt eliminated, if Saudi Arabia fail to beat Uruguay on Wednesday.

Asked if this was the happiest day of his life, Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov said: “I hope there are more to come.”

“We took a step into the next round and now we have to see how we have to prepare for what happens next. We have to do our homework,” he added.

Salah was making his first appearance since injuring his left shoulder when falling heavily after being dragged to the ground by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final just over three weeks ago.

Russia thrashed a poor Saudi Arabia team 5-0 in the tournament opener last week, but Egypt had been expected to pose a stiffer challenge.

But after Fathi put into his own net, an inspired Cheryshev slotted in his third goal of the tournament, putting him equal with Cristiano Ronaldo in the top scorers’ chart.

Dzyuba’s third goal sent the 65,000-capacity crowd into raptures.

– Japan milestone –

Colombia’s Falcao (front C) vies for the ball with Japan’s Gen Shoji (rear R).

Japan made history in the early game, beating 10-man Colombia 2-1 to become the first Asian side to conquer a South American team at a World Cup.

The complexion of the game in Saransk was changed radically when Colombia’s Carlos Sanchez was shown the first red card of Russia 2018 for handball in the opening minutes of the contest.

Shinji Kagawa scored from the penalty spot and although Juan Quintero equalised late in the first half, Japan made their superior numbers count, with Yuya Osako heading a winner in the 73rd minute.

Japan’s build-up to Russia has been tumultuous after coach Vahid Halilhodzic was sacked in April and replaced by Akira Nishino, despite steering the team to the finals.

But they will be delighted to start their Russian campaign with a victory after failing to notch a single win in Brazil four years ago — including a painful 4-1 defeat at the hands of Colombia.

“I said at half-time that if we can keep the ball moving, we can deprive the Colombia players of their stamina,” said Nishino.

“Our players were aggressive from the start and I think that worked very well for us. This is just one win and three points, so we will save our celebration.”

– Senegal pip Poland –

Senegal’s defender Salif Sane (rear C) heads the ball as he vies for it with Poland’s forward Kamil Grosicki.

In the other Group H clash on Tuesday, Senegal recorded the first African win at this World Cup when they beat Poland 2-1, thanks to a deflected Thiago Cionek own goal and a terrible error by Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, which resulted in a goal for man-of-the-match Mbaye Niang.

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak got Poland back in the game with an 86th-minute header but Senegal hung on at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium.

In a match billed as a straight fight between Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane, neither scored but Liverpool striker Mane set up Idrissa Gueye for the shot that took a wicked deflection off Cionek, leaving Szczesny totally wrong-footed in the Polish goal for Senegal’s opener on 37 minutes.

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said the whole of Africa was closely monitoring the progress of Senegal.

“Senegal today represents the whole of the African continent,” he said.

“Of course we represent our country but I can also guarantee that the whole of Africa is supporting us. I’m getting phone calls from everywhere.”

Osako’s 73rd-minute winner meant the Japanese avenged their 4-1 mauling in the group stages of Brazil 2014 as Colombia played with a man down for 86 minutes in Saransk.

After leaving Brazil without a win four years ago, Japan made a dream start to their Russian campaign even though head coach Akira Nishino was only appointed in April.

In an explosive start to the Group H clash, Colombia defender Carlos Sanchez earned the first red card of Russia 2018 with a handball after just four minutes.

Japan took a shock lead when Shinji Kagawa netted the resulting penalty before Juan Quintero equalised with a free-kick for Colombia to make it 1-1 at half-time.

Brazil 2014 topscorer James Rodriguez came on for the last half-hour after labouring in training with a calf strain but could not pull his side level after Osako’s goal.

Travelling Colombia fans turned the Mordovia Arena into a sea of yellow, but were soon stunned into silence.

When Osako fired in a shot from Japan’s first attack, Sanchez blocked the effort with a raised arm.

Referee Damir Skomina showed him a straight red card after pointing to the spot without referring to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

The Colombians bitterly protested but Kagawa drilled home the spot kick to put Japan ahead in the sixth minute.

It was the second-fastest red card in World Cup finals history, bettered only by the 52 seconds it took Jose Batista of Uruguay to be sent off against Scotland at Mexico ’86.

After the dismissal, Colombia poured forward and their captain Radamel Falcao twice went close.

Colombia coach Jose Pekerman made a tactical switch on 31 minutes, with Wilmar Barrios replacing Juventus midfielder Juan Cuadrado.

The pressure paid off as Quintero’s low free-kick flew under Japan’s wall and crept inside the post shortly before half-time. The goal was confirmed by goal-line technology.

Japan pressed after the break, forcing Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina into a string of saves.

To a deafening roar from Colombia fans, Rodriguez came on for Quintero on 58 minutes, just before Barrios earned a yellow card for clattering Kagawa from behind.

Japanese pressure paid off when Osako, who was a constant menace to the Colombia defence, leapt highest from a corner and guided his header in off the post with 17 minutes to go.

The goal jolted Colombia into life as Rodriguez then Barrios went close at the other end.

Bayern Munich star Rodriguez earned a late yellow card for sliding into Japan midfielder Genki Haraguchi.

 A hat-trick from the five-time world player of the year snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw for the European champions against Spain in a heavyweight Group B showdown in Sochi.

It was Ronaldo’s 51st career hat-trick, and the 51st in the tournament’s history, as the Real Madrid star became just the fourth player to score in four World Cups.

“I am very happy, it’s a nice personal record to have, one more in my career,” said Ronaldo.

“For me the most important thing is to emphasise what the team did against one of the favourites to win this World Cup.”

Despite lifting the trophy at Euro 2016, Portugal are not widely viewed as among the favourites in Russia but can take a big step towards the last 16 with victory over Morocco in Moscow on Wednesday.

“I think we are stronger than Morocco if we compare the two teams, but I’m not saying the game will be easy for us,” striker Andre Silva told reporters at Portugal’s training base.

“We cannot underestimate them and must have respect for any opponent. Any game at the World Cup is difficult.”

It will be just the second meeting between the two countries, after Morocco beat Portugal 3-1 in the group stage at the 1986 finals.

Morocco did not concede a single goal in the final qualifying round as they sealed a return to the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, but their knockout hopes hang by a thread after a 95th-minute own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz against Iran.

– ‘We’re not dead’ –

Herve Renard’s men face a monumental challenge, with games to come against Portugal and Spain, but midfielder Faycal Fajr is adamant all is not lost for the Atlas Lions.

“If I said that we don’t believe we can qualify it would be a lie,” said Fajr, one of 17 players born abroad in Morocco’s 23-man squad.

“I could throw out some examples, like the Argentina draw (1-1 with Iceland). Where there’s a will there’s a way. (The Portuguese) have two feet, two legs and they are humans like us.”

“We lost a battle but we haven’t lost the war. We’re not dead,” he added.”

Renard lamented that Morocco were “crucified by our own errors” in the loss to Iran, but the Frenchman is used to defying the odds, having led outsiders Zambia to a surprise triumph at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

He then became the first coach to win the continental title with two different teams three years later, guiding the Ivory Coast to glory.

Morocco will need Renard to conjure up more magic to prevent an early exit, although Fajr says the mood in the camp remains positive.

“Even after the defeat, the atmosphere was terrific,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for 20 years, all Moroccans have been waiting for this for 20 years. We’re one big family.”

Monday evening’s game in Volgograd, which was decided by captain Harry Kane’s injury-time header, had a 69.2 percent audience share at its peak, beating last month’s royal wedding.

Around three million requests were also made to stream it online, making it the highest ever live audience for an online BBC broadcast.

England won 2-1 and will next play Panama on Sunday.

Champions in 2010 and among the favourites this year, Spain’s World Cup ambitions were kept in check, almost single-handedly, by a stunning Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.

The draw came just two days after Spain’s campaign was thrown into disarray by the shock sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui following an untimely announcement by Real Madrid that he would join the 13-times European champions after the tournament.

Fernando Hierro, Spain’s sporting director, is now at the helm but barely a week into the tournament La Roja — expected to join Brazil, Germany and France in the latter stages — have endured more drama than they would have wanted or expected.

“It’s a crucial match that will determine our World Cup destiny,” said Isco. “We want to score from the opening minute, even though that won’t be easy.

“We will stick to the style that defines us as a team, but we have to pass the ball around a lot more and maintain possession. If we play quickly across the pitch, the chances will come. I hope we score quickly.”

Iran kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win against Morocco, thanks to a late own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz, piling the pressure on Spain at Kazan Arena on Wednesday.

Iran sit top of the pile as the only Group B team with a win so far, an achievement that sparked incredible celebrations in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere throughout the Islamic republic.

Coach Carlos Queiroz concedes Iran now face one of the biggest challenges in their World Cup history, but maintains they can “make the impossible possible”.

– ‘Universe Cup final’ –

“If the game against Morocco was the World Cup final for us, the game against Spain will be the Universe Cup final,” said the former Real Madrid coach.

“It was not a miracle that we won. What can happen once in a while is a group of people, when they are united, can create super stories and super things.

“Our attitude is to try and make the impossible possible.”

Yet keeping the Spanish armada at bay to claim the point that would boost hopes of qualifying for the last 16 looks a tall order.

Iran have never beaten a European side at a World Cup — their only previous victory was a 2-1 win over the United States in France in 1998.

Despite the frustration of conceding an 88th-minute equaliser to Ronaldo following two goals from Diego Costa and a stunning strike from Nacho, Isco believes Spain’s resolve remains intact.

“We had a setback but we stuck together and got on with the job,” he said.

“We saw that in the first match. We never gave up, even after conceding a goal in the fourth minute. That shows what this team is all about. We’ll never stop fighting.”

Barring any last minute disasters the Barcelona striker will reach his century of games for the Celeste on Wednesday when they play Saudi Arabia in Rostov-on-Don in Group A’s second round of matches.

The match should be routine and could secure Uruguay’s passage to the knockout stage, but with Suarez football fans know that very few things are mundane.

The last two World Cups have seen Suarez exit in ignominy.

In 2010, the forward was sent off after making a last minute “save” against Ghana, which helped avoid defeat and saw the South Americans progress to the last four.

The incident became so infamous it got its own Wikipedia entry — Suarez even described it as the best save of the tournament — but that was nothing to what happened four years later.

In 2014, he was banned from all football for four months and fined after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, the third biting incident of his career.

Uruguay players have hit out at the way Suarez was subsequently treated by the footballing authorities, but their protests have garnered little empathy outside the country.

Suarez is a player loved and loathed in equal measure; his on-field behaviour has been questionable but not so his talent.

Despite the ever-present controversies, the 31-year-old is Uruguay’s record goalscorer, scoring 51 times in 99 matches.

Five of those have come in the World Cup and despite a sluggish start in Uruguay’s 1-0 opening game win against Egypt, the match against a weak Saudi Arabia side may offer him the chance to celebrate his centenary in style.

Uruguay may make changes to midfield, bringing in Carlos Sanchez and Cristian Rodriguez ahead of Nahitan Nandez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia still smarting from their opening day 5-0 drubbing by Russia, could make wholesale changes as they desperately try to stay in the tournament.

The Saudis preparations were jolted by a mid-air mishap on Monday when the plane carrying them to Rostov suffered a fire in one of its engines.

The aircraft landed safely after what one of the Saudi players called a “simple malfunction”.

“It was a small fire in one of the engines, the right engine, but the plane landed safely,” association president Ahmad Al Harbi told Saudi sports TV channel KSA.

Glik, a bulwark at the back for Adam Nawalka’s team, has been under an injury cloud since hurting his shoulder earlier this month.

There have been conflicting reports emanating from the Poland camp about his availability and Nawalka could offer no certainty Monday when quizzed about the Monaco defender.

“We’re not sure if Kamil is going to play in the first match, I can only tell you he’s going to train and we’ll see how he feels,” he told reporters.

“But he’s a very tough guy and he’ll do everything to recuperate from his injury.”

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse was practically licking his lips at the prospect of his Sadio Mane-led attack taking on the Poles without Glik.

“We all know Poland have some very good individual qualities but also some defensive weaknesses,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a very nice game. We have lots of assets.”

Cisse said Liverpool’s Mane, fresh from scoring 10 goals in the Champions League, was already among the elite strikers at football’s showpiece in Russia.

“He’s absolutely unique because he’s unpredictable, so nobody is able to mark him or stop him,” he said.

“He’s really great. At any point he can make the difference with a dribble or a pass. For me, he’s already among the best players in the world.”

Glik aside, Nawalka said everything was going to plan for Poland, ranked eighth in the world to Senegal’s 27.

“We have prepared in an optimal way to play the first game,” he said.

“We respect our opponent and we’re prepared for a very difficult match but we believe we will come out victorious and that we will play better.”

Nawalka talked up his own hitman Robert Lewandowski, who was top scorer in the Bundesliga for the third time this season and set a record during World Cup qualifying.

“The scale of his talent is immense, supported by a lot of hard work,” he said.

“He’s very professional and his form and physical efficiency are second to none. He’s one of the best players in the world.”

Kick-off at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium is 6:00pm (1500 GMT).

The weekend winner of the Stuttgart Cup – who owns nine titles in Halle – was welcomed with a cake and ceremony by tournament officials as he prepares to start in the first round against Aljaz Bedene.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion moved back to the top spot through his Stuttgart semi-final place.

But to stay ahead of rival Rafael Nadal he must now win the Halle trophy according to ATP calculations.

That’s just fine for the Swiss, confident in his game after claiming his 98th career title on Sunday over Milos Raonic.

“I’m always excited for a challenge,” Federer said.

“I’m up for it. I’m the holder here anyway, so my goal has always been to defend the title.

“That might take my mind off of number one a little bit; I have hopes of going a long way this week.

“I want to start out of the blocks quickly. But I also want to enjoy being number one again (sixth time). I don’t know how long I’ll be there.

“A good step would be to defend the trophy and help myself stay on the top ranking. I did a double-take this morning when I looked at the rankings and saw myself at number one.

“It was a cool moment  I’d like to stay there.”

Japan’s Kei Nishikori had to fight through a tiebreaker to start his grass season with a win as he beat Matthias Bachinger.

The seventh seed who has twice played semi-finals at the event, worked for just under 90 minutes to beat his 159th-ranked German opponent  6-3, 7-6 (7/3) and reach the second round.

Yuichi Sugita made it a Japanese double into the second round, beating  wild card Maximillian Marterer 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 after two and a quarter hours while holding off a dozen aces from the German.

Nishikori, a former top 10 regular now ranked 27th after wrist injuries last season, was joined as a winner by fourth seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat the second German on the day, putting out  Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-1.

“It’s never easy but I think I played a very solid, decent match,” Nishikori said. “He can be dangerous on grass, he came to net well.

“If he had won the second set, it could have been tight, you never know what can happen in the third. I’m happy with how I’m playing and looking forward to the next round.

“Everything is working well but I cannot expect to much coming back from injury. I’m just glad to be back at this level again.”

Dutchman Robin Haase provided early drama with his 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 comeback victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Roger Federer, who won in Stuttgart on Sunday, returned to Germany after a rapid visit to Switzerland.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner raced home by car Sunday night from southern Germany to watch Switzerland draw Brazil 1-1, then flew to Halle on Monday to prepare for his opening match.

The 36-year-old took back the top ranking form Rafael Nadal for the second time this season on Monday, but, according to the ATP, has to win a record 10th Halle crown if he is to enter Wimbledon on the top world ranking.