Is Neymar no longer Brazil's talisman at FIFA World Cup?
Carlo Ancelotti has left out Neymar from Brazil’s March friendlies, signalling that the Selecao might do alright without their leading goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup, starting June 11.
Carlo Ancelotti has left out Neymar from Brazil’s March friendlies, signalling that the Selecao might do alright without their leading goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup, starting June 11.
Carlo Ancelotti has left out Neymar from Brazil’s March friendlies, signalling that the Selecao might do alright without their leading goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup, starting June 11.
Neymar is to Brazil what Lionel Messi is to Argentina, and Cristiano Ronaldo is to Portugal. So if it is tough for the Argentine and Portuguese fans to imagine their teams without Messi and Ronaldo respectively, at the FIFA World Cup, how might the Brazilians cope with a potential absence of Neymar from the tournament, starting June 11?
It is quite early to rule out the talismanic Brazilian from the World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but there were early signs that the Selecao could roll without Neymar in the squad for the March friendlies announced on Monday.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti left out the 34-year-old from the squad for Brazil’s friendlies against France in Boton on March 26 and Croatia in Orlando on March 31. Neymar recently missed a match for Santos FC due to muscle fatigue.
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, but has not played for the national team since October 2023. He has also struggled for minutes with Santos. Brazil had eight wins in their qualification race and did so without the involvement of Neymar for the most part. Their stars in the campaign were Raphinha (5 goals) and now injured Rodrygo (3 goals). Vinicius Junior too chipped in with two goals.
"Neymar can be at the World Cup if he's 100%," Ancelotti told reporters on Monday after announcing the squad. "I didn't call him up because he's not 100%. Neymar has to be training and playing."
Ancelotti refused to rule out the star striker from the World Cup, which is still a few months away. However, the March friendlies feature an enviable list of forwards, including a call-up for Brentford striker Igor Thiago. At the World Cup, Brazil have a relatively easy Group, where they face Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
Interestingly, both Messi and Ronaldo were their national side's top scorer in the qualification race. Messi netted eight times to top the South American goalscorers list, while Ronaldo hit five goals, joint-most with Hungary's Barnabas Varga and Ireland's Troy Parrott.