Neymar received an ovation at different times during Brazil’s friendly against Panama. The striker, who remained on the bench throughout the match, even went to the Maracanã lawn and warmed up lightly with his teammates, but wearing sneakers.
The player is recovering from an injury and should only be able to play after the start of the World Cup. Brazil debuts in the World Cup on June 13th against Morocco. Then he will return to the field on the 19th against Haiti and say goodbye to the group stage on the 24th against Scotland.
In the defeat of Panama, Neymar’s name was shouted shortly after the visiting team’s equalizer and also at the end of the match when the game was already 6-2.
When the match ended, Panama players asked for photos with the attacker, still on the Maracanã lawn.
In an interview with getv after the friendly, midfielder Lucas Paquetá commented on what it was like sharing the bench with Neymar.
“We were on the bench, he was smiling and said he was very happy to be here. He did a lot for this shirt, he helped me a lot in the national team,” said Paquetá.
Neymar felt a problem with his calf during a match for Santos, on the 17th, the day before Brazil was called up for the World Cup. Exams from the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) showed a grade 2 injury, with partial rupture of the fibers.
Doctor Rodrigo Lasmar stated on Thursday (28) that the recovery period was two to three weeks. On Saturday (30), coach Carlo Ancelotti stated that the striker will not be cut. “We think he will recover quickly,” said Ancelotti.
The coach repeated countless times over the last year that whether or not Neymar would be called up would be based on his physical conditions. He even stated that he would only have “100%” players in the group. Asked about the apparent contradiction in maintaining an injured athlete, he tried to justify himself.
“I talked about this in March, I probably didn’t explain it well. I said I could call up a player who wasn’t 100%, but who could be 100% at the World Cup. Unfortunately, Militão, Rodrygo and Estêvão won’t be 100% for the World Cup. But Neymar could be 100%,” he declared.
