Brazil national team manager Carlo Ancelotti has issued a final warning to Neymar over his chances of making the 2026 World Cup squad.
Ancelotti is yet to call upon Neymar since becoming Selecao boss, but insists that the door remains open to the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar.
Neymar has failed to play at the highest level since he left PSG for Saudi Arabia. Due to his fitness issue, his contract at Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal was eventually terminated.
That decision freed Neymar to head home and rejoin boyhood club Santos.
However, things has not been rosy in Brazil for Neymar. The 33-year-old playmaker form has failed to convince Ancelotti who overlooked him again when Brazil named their squad for a friendly date with Tunisia that will take place in Lille, France.
Unsurprisingly, Ancelotti continues to be quizzed on whether an iconic No.10 forms part of his plans.
Neymar’s last match for Brazil was in October 2023 when he got injured during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match against Uruguay. (Photo by Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images)
He told reporters when discovering that the subject had followed him from South America to Europe: “I thought Neymar was just a topic in Brazil, but I see it’s a global issue. Fortunately, he recovered from his injury. Now he has six months to play. The Brazilian Championship stops on December 7, then he can take a vacation, but then he’ll have the Brazilian Championship again to show his quality and, obviously, his physical condition.”
Ancelotti went on to reveal that Neymar is in his thoughts when it comes to World Cup call-ups, but has pointed out that he will not be taking any risks when it comes to piecing together a squad to compete for global glory in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
He added: “Neymar is on the list of players who could be at the World Cup. Now he has six months to make the final list. We just have to observe him and other players so as not to make mistakes in the final list.”
Neymar is his country’s all-time leading scorer, with 79 goals being recorded across 128 appearances. However, his last appearance for the national team was in October 2023 – when he suffered a knee ligament damage during a World Cup qualifying clash with Uruguay.
