Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti explains why he picked Neymar in his World Cup squad | OneFootball

Star forward Neymar has been named in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the World Cup.

The 34-year-old Santos attacker, who has scored 79 goals in 128 international appearances, had faced doubts over his tournament participation due to injury issues.

But Ancelotti selected him in his 26-man squad on Monday, and later explained his reasoning at a press conference.

"Neymar will be an important player for us at the World Cup,” Ancelotti said. “We realised that in this last period he had continuity and was in good physical condition."

This will be Neymar’s fourth World Cup after previously featuring in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Carlo Ancelotti included Neymar in his World Cup squad on Monday (Getty)

He helped Brazil reach the semi-finals 12 years ago, but was unable to play against Germany after suffering a back injury in his side’s quarter-final win over Colombia. Brazil were subsequently thrashed 7-1 by eventual champions Germany in the last four.

Neymar has also been part of Brazilian sides that have been knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the last two World Cups.

In 2018, they fell short against Belgium, while Brazil suffered penalty shootout against Croatia in 2022.

They will hope to go further this time around as the five-time champions aim for their first World Cup triumph since 2002.

Neymar has not played for his country since October 2023 due to multiple injury setbacks, but he has finally earned his spot in the national team once more after convincing Ancelotti that he is somewhere near full fitness ahead of this summer’s tournament in North America.

Premier League players Alisson, Bruno Guimaraes, Casemiro, Matheus Cunha, Rayan, Igor Thiago, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli were all named in the squad alongside Neymar.

However, Chelsea forward Joao Pedro was omitted, and he took to Instagram to react to the disappointing news.

"Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to fulfill this dream of representing my country in a World Cup, but I remain calm and focused, as I always try to be,” he wrote.

Brazil will begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco on 13 June, while they also have group games against Haiti and Scotland, with Neymar hoping to prove his worth after Ancelotti’s show of faith in him.