Brazil Manager Provides Glimmer of Hope for a Neymar World Cup Appearance

Neymar has not featured for the Brazilian national team since October 2023.

Carlo Ancelotti did not include Neymar in his roster for the March international window. | EITAN ABRAMOVICH–AFP / FRANCK FIFE–AFP / Getty Images

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has not entirely ruled out Neymar for his 2026 FIFA World Cup roster, he said Saturday.

Despite being skipped over for the March international friendlies against France and Croatia—having last featured for the Seleção in October 2023, Neymar has impressed Ancelotti enough as of late to still be in contention for what would be his fourth career World Cup appearance (2014, 2018, 2022) in just nine weeks’ time.

The 34-year-old forward—who surpassed Pelé as Brazil’s all-time leading goal scorer with 79 goals in 128 total appearances, including eight goals in World Cup play—is “currently being evaluated by the CBF [Brazilian Football Confederation], by me, and he still has two months to show that he has the qualities to play in the next World Cup,” Ancelotti told L’Equipe.

“I am going to call up the players who are physically ready. After his [December] knee injury, Neymar has come back well; he’s scoring goals. He needs to continue in this direction and improve his fitness. He’s on the right track.”

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What Has Neymar Done to Change Ancelotti’s Mind?

Neymar Jr. has struggled to stay healthy for the last two seasons. | Martin Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The Brazilian superstar and former FC Barcelona legend has been plagued by injury in recent years, keeping him on the fringes of the country’s squad. It was an ACL tear back in 2023 that ended his relatively routine participation in yellow and blue. He also required arthroscopy knee surgery last December, keeping him out of the first 12 matches of the Brazilian Campeonato Paulista and Serie A for his boyhood club, Santos, and making his fitness levels a key concern for Ancelotti.

“Neymar is not at 100% and therefore he is not on the list,” Ancelotti said last month after leaving Neymar off of his March roster. “Neymar is not at 100% of his capability. If he can be at 100% physically, he can be there.”

Since his return to play in late February, though, Neymar has dominated the pitch, notching three goals and two assists in four games. He missed out on Santos’s four other games during that period of time—three league games and a CONMEBOL Sudamericana group stage match on Wednesday—due to a combination of his cautious return to top speed and a Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment.

The procedure, which uses a player’s own blood to regenerate tissues and aid in the healing of micro-lesions, is actually a positive sign, rather than another setback for the star. It is part of Neymar and the club’s plan to bring his health and fitness back up to standard by World Cup time—something Ancelotti may have taken note of.

“[Neymar] will recharge his energy to play the 13 consecutive games that remain until the next [international] break [for the 2026 World Cup],” Santos manager Cuca said this week. “So we used this time, with the coaching staff and physiologists, to recharge his tank and get him going until the middle of the year.”

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What Has Neymar Said About the 2026 World Cup?

Neymar could feature for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup. | IMAGO/ABACAPRESS

Neymar was heartbroken after not being selected for the March international window.

“Hey Ancelotti, what about me?” Neymar was recorded saying in mid -March, while lying on a treatment table in Santos’s training room.

“We were not called up,” he added in the clip. “I’m sad, obviously. I’ll always root for the national team, right? Everything is fine. Now, it’s time to keep working. Keep improving.”

Neymar has a desire to compete again for his country, despite entering the twilight of his career. He remained optimistic after Ancelotti’s snub and eager to change the Italian boss’s mind, something it now seems Neymar may actually accomplish.

“I don’t know if it’s my last year in the national team, but it’s coming to an end, and we have to know that,” Neymar said on his YouTube channel.

“I can help the national team,” he added. “I can help in any way, I know the qualities that I have, and I know the power I have on the field. I know I can add to the team. Obviously, I want to go to the World Cup. Obviously this moves me.”

Brazil will compete in Group C at the World Cup this summer, facing Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in the group stage. Prior to North America’s summer showcase, though, the Seleção will play two final tune-up friendlies against Panama and Egypt beginning in late May, meaning Neymar has just six weeks of preparation if he hopes to be there.

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