Neymar starts countdown, has 10 games to convince Ancelotti | OneFootball

Neymar has ten matches left for Santos to convince Carlo Ancelotti to include him in the final Brazil National Team squad for the 2026 World Cup, with the first of them taking place this Tuesday, when the team faces Paraguay’s Deportivo Recoleta in the Copa Sudamericana.

While past idols such as Ronaldo and Romário insist that Neymar, now 34, can still make a difference, the Santos star, a big poker enthusiast, has not been dealt good cards so far.

The top scorer in the history of the national team, with 79 goals, Neymar played the last of his 128 matches for the “Seleção” in October 2023.

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He will need to pull a few aces out of his sleeve to earn his first call-up under Ancelotti and play in his fourth World Cup.

The Italian coach has until May 11 to define the preliminary list and, seven days later, will announce the 26 players chosen for the World Cup, which will be played from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

As part of a workload management plan designed to avoid setbacks after the surgery on his left knee in December, Neymar was left out of Santos’ opening Group D match in the Copa Sudamericana last week.

Peixe lost 1-0 away to Ecuador’s Deportivo Cuenca.

“Tank full”

Neymar returned on Saturday showing a good level of play.

He played behind striker Gabigol and completed the full 90 minutes in Santos’ 1-0 win over Atlético-MG in the Brazilian Championship. Santos coach Cuca celebrated seeing him with “the tank full.”

“Neymar is improving game by game, he stayed behind to work. His movement is much better and the tendency is for him to keep improving. It is risky to play all 90 minutes. We’ll see if it’s better if he can handle it. We’ll work so that he plays on Tuesday. We’re happy to see him enjoying the game the way he did,” said the coach.

Neymar, however, has played in only seven of the 21 matches Santos have contested in all competitions this season. He returned to the field in February after undergoing surgery.

On the field, though, he has made his mark: he has three goals and two assists in the five Brasileirão matches he has been able to play.

Before Ancelotti announces the preliminary squad list, Santos will face Recoleta (twice) and San Lorenzo in the Sudamericana; Fluminense, Bahia, Palmeiras, and Bragantino in the Brazilian Championship; and Coritiba in the Copa do Brasil.

After that, the team will face Coritiba two more times — once in the Brazilian Championship and once in the Copa do Brasil — before the final list is released.

Last year, despite struggling with recurring injuries, Neymar was key in helping Santos avoid relegation.

  View this photo on Instagram   A post shared by Santos Futebol Clube (@santosfc)

“It’s very complicated being me!”

“He still has two months to prove that he is physically fit to play in the next World Cup,” Ancelotti said in an interview published by French sports newspaper L’Équipe.

The pressure is mounting. Brazilian fans in the stadium chanted in support of Neymar during the 2-1 defeat to France in March, in a pair of friendlies held in the United States.

Last month, Ancelotti traveled to watch the match between Mirassol and Santos in the Brazilian Championship, but Neymar did not play due to workload management.

As time runs out, controversy continues to follow the No. 10.

In March, he spent 16 hours playing online poker from Friday to Sunday while missing the match between Santos and Cruzeiro.

“Since, unfortunately, I didn’t go to the match these days because of workload management, I had a little time to do what I like most outside football, which is play a little poker,” he said amid a wave of criticism.

In Santos’ 2-0 win over Remo, he sparked another controversy with a sexist comment while criticizing the referee: “He woke up a little like a bitch,” he said. The star later apologized.

“If I play hurt, as they said last year, I’m wrong. If I think only about myself, I’m wrong. If I save myself, I’m wrong. If I play in pain or with something that could get worse, I’m wrong (…) It’s very hard to please everyone. It’s very complicated being me, my God… I have to have the patience to put up with you all, you know?” the forward vented in a video on social media.

*With AFP content

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