For the first time in his career, Neymar will reach a World Cup with less than 46 direct goal contributions in the one year before the Brazilian team’s debut.
Called up by Carlo Ancelotti to represent the country at the World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the star will compete in the tournament for the fourth time in a scenario very different from previous cycles, when he maintained high offensive rates on the eve of the 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions, despite facing different contexts in each of them.
His peak in this period came before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when he accumulated 31 goals and 19 assists, with a total of 50 direct participation in goals. The numbers could have been even better if he hadn’t suffered a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot in February, three months before the World Cup.
The problem ended up compromising his preparation for the competition. With just two goals and one assist in five games, his image during the tournament ended up being marked more by foul simulations than by his technical ability.
Four years later, however, Neymar managed to maintain good results in the 365-day period leading up to the World Cup in Qatar and registered 48 goal contributions, with 30 balls in the net and 18 assists. More important than the numbers is that, this time, he reached the tournament without major physical concerns.
The scenario seemed ideal to leave behind the frustrations of previous World Cups — the fall in the quarterfinals in 2018 and his cut during the 2014 World Cup, played in Brazil —, but Neymar suffered an injury right in Brazil’s debut against Serbia, with a sprain in his right ankle. He still managed to recover in time to play in the round of 16 against South Korea and the quarter-finals against Croatia, a match in which the Brazilian team would end up eliminated.
His participation in the last World Cup ended with just two goals and one assist.
If before there was a high expectation for the star’s performance in the World Cup, driven by his performances in the 365-day period leading up to the tournaments, now his performance generates distrust.
From June 13, 2025 until today, he has accumulated just 19 goal appearances, with 14 goals and 5 assists. With Brazil’s debut scheduled for June 13th, he has less than a month to improve these numbers. In the period, Santos still has four more games, but the attacker’s participation remains uncertain.
Concern increased last Sunday (17). Although his departure from the game against Coritiba was caused by confusion between the refereeing team and the black and white team’s technical committee, the player complained of pain in his calf throughout the match.
The episode reinforced a scenario that has marked his second spell at Vila Belmiro, surrounded by physical problems that limited not only his participation in Santos games, but also his availability to represent the Brazilian team.
Much of the intense national debate surrounding his call-up for the World Cup occurred precisely because, until the release of the final list, Ancelotti did not have the chance to count on the athlete in any of the ten games in which he managed Brazil since taking over the team in May last year.
Although he decided to take the player to the World Cup, the Italian coach made it clear that he does not arrive with starting status and will have to fight for space throughout training.
“I want to be clear, clean and honest. He will play if he deserves to play. We have training, and the training will decide who will play. I have an idea of what the starting team could be at this moment, but then we have to see how they train, how they are prepared, if they have good physical and mental condition to be in the starting team”, said the coach.
