Neymar Bids Farewell to the World Cup in His Most Melancholy Campaign, With Less Than One Half Played

Neymar ended his 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in the most melancholy fashion of his career, playing less than one half of football throughout the tournament. Brazil's No. 10 came off the bench in Sunday's (5) 2-1 Round-of-16 defeat to Norway in New Jersey but could not prevent the team's elimination. He scored Brazil's only goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

At 34, Neymar had already announced before the tournament that this would be his final World Cup. He was called up despite suffering a calf muscle injury shortly before the final squad announcement. He spent the opening days of the tournament recovering, made his debut only in the closing minutes of the win over Scotland, and never reached full fitness.

Head coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted throughout the tournament that he would only use Neymar when he was fully fit, something that never happened. Against Japan, Neymar did not play at all, with Ancelotti saying he was saving him for a possible extra time. Against Norway, despite additional training time, he again started on the bench and entered only in the second half, unable to change the outcome.

It was the first World Cup in which Neymar was not Brazil's leading figure, a role taken over by Vinicius Junior. Brazil's all-time leading scorer, with 79 official international goals, ends his World Cup career with eight goals but without the title he had pursued since making his tournament debut in 2014.

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