“Neymar can be important for any team,” Cafu, the last man to captain Brazil to World Cup glory, tells Sky Sports. “Seeing Neymar playing well, physically and technically, that can help the Brazil team a lot.” It has just been a long time since anyone saw it.Talk about a psychodrama. Neymar-mania continues to engulf Brazil and one wonders whether the five-time champions of the world should be above it. But the longing for the country’s all-time top scorer in the men’s game to have his last dance is an obsession.
Neymar was excluded from the squad as a teenager in 2010 despite popular demand. In 2014, on home soil, injury robbed him of his moment and proved the prelude to the humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in Belo Horizonte that still haunts Brazilian football.
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Injury again disrupted his momentum before the 2018 tournament and during it in 2022. He did recover sufficiently in Qatar to score a sensational extra-time goal in the quarter-final only for Croatia to equalise in the 117th minute and knock Brazil out on penalties.All of which is a long-winded way of saying that Neymar’s love affair with the national team has been fraught with emotion and demands its perfect ending. The small matter of form, fitness and 34 years of wear and tear must not be allowed to stand in his way.
Having not played for Brazil since 2023, Carlo Ancelotti delivered the dramatic recall, received rapturously by many. The veteran Italian coach had long stated that Neymar could return only when he had proven that he was ready – then just picked him anyway.
Eight appearances for Santos in the Brazilian top division this year should not really have been enough. Every one of them has come at home, not exactly proof that Neymar has been eager to test himself in the toughest of environments. The case is flimsy.
He does rank among the top 10 players in the competition for chances created per game but even Ancelotti knows the truth. Joao Pedro is, he admits, unfortunate to have missed out on the squad despite failing to seize his own opportunities with the Selecao.
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2026-06-13 08:00:00
