Ancelotti on Neymar’s return: He can play at his best | OneFootball

There are only seven months left until the World Cup, but coach Carlo Ancelotti still doesn’t know which group will represent the Brazilian National Team. One of the 26 spots could be allocated to Neymar. And the coach did not rule out a possible return of the star.

The Santos attacking midfielder has not yet been called up to the National Team by Ancelotti. At the moment, he is recovering from a right thigh muscle injury, his third since returning to Peixe. The coach stated that if the player is fit, he can play for Brazil.

“Neymar can play at his highest level in this National Team without any problem. When he is physically well, he has the quality to play not only for the Brazil National Team, but for any other in the world,” Ancelotti said at a press conference on Monday, the day before the friendly against Japan.

“We have to manage these two things. A team that will gradually be more defined for the World Cup, with other players we want to see how they fit into the game,” he reinforced.

Left out of the last call-up

Neymar was last called up to the National Team in March of this year, when the coach was still Dorival Júnior, now at Corinthians. However, the star was dropped from the squad after presenting an issue in his left thigh.

The Santos number 10 hasn’t taken the field for Brazil since October 17, 2023, in the 2–0 loss to Uruguay in the Qualifiers. On that occasion, the player started. In total, he has 79 goals and 59 assists in 128 games for the Seleção.

Brazil’s next match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.