After Santos’ elimination by Novorizontino in the Paulistão, Neymar will have only three more matches to prove he’s fit to return to play for the Brazilian National Team.
Getting more minutes on the field was the main asset for the number 10 to try to convince Carlo Ancelotti, and the state championship would have been a way to have more games to showcase his skills.
The coach of the Brazilian National Team will announce on March 16th the squad list for the friendlies against France and Croatia, the last commitments before the final list for the 2026 World Cup.
With the early elimination from the state championship, the striker’s preparation schedule has shrunk decisively.
If Santos had reached the Paulistão final, scheduled for March 4th and 8th, Neymar could have played up to seven matches, including the quarter-final against Novorizontino.
Now, there are only three guaranteed matches left, all in the Brazilian Championship, before the call-up:
- February 26: against Vasco
- March 10: against Mirassol
- March 15: against Corinthians
With the reduced schedule and his recent underwhelming performance, questions remain about the future of the number 10 in the Brazilian National Team.
So, do you think he deserves to be on Carleto’s list? Share your opinion in the comments!
Lackluster performance resonates abroad
The 34-year-old player’s performance was far from ideal in Santos’ exit from the Campeonato Paulista.
He was tightly marked throughout the match, Neymar had little creative influence and ended up being decisively negative at the end of the first half, getting involved in the play that led to the first goal of the game, scored by Rômulo.
The elimination made waves in the European press.
The Spanish newspaper AS described the episode as “Neymar’s disaster,” highlighting that the setback robs the Brazilian of a chance to win a title that would have surely brought him closer to the World Cup.
National Team schedule leading up to the World Cup
03/16 - Squad announcement for March friendlies
03/23 - Meet-up in Orlando
03/26 - Brazil vs France, in Boston
03/31 - Brazil vs Croatia, in Orlando
05/19 - World Cup squad announcement
05/25 - Start of training camp at Granja
05/31 - Brazil vs Panama, at Maracanã
06/01 - Travel to the USA
06/06 - Brazil vs Egypt, in Cleveland
06/13 - World Cup debut against Morocco
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.