Neymar has been on the focus in current days following the brand new damage he suffered, which now casts doubt on his future with Santos. However past that, it’s his potential return to the Brazil nationwide group forward of the 2026 FIFA World Cup that has generated probably the most hypothesis — one thing Marquinhos addressed not too long ago.
“All the time!” responded the Paris Saint-Germain participant in an interview with RMC when requested if he would welcome Neymar again to the Brazil nationwide group. “He’s a terrific good friend, an actual expertise,” stated the defender, who was his teammate for years at each membership and worldwide degree.
Nevertheless, Marquinhos made it clear that such a return can not occur in a single day. “It depends upon many issues,” the PSG star acknowledged. “It depends upon how he’s, if he’s doing nicely, if he’s in form, if bodily he’s discovered his rhythm once more. I hope he will get again to his greatest.”
Neymar has struggled not too long ago to seek out consistency. Accidents have adopted him for years and, since his return to Santos in the beginning of 2025, that has not modified. Actually, the 33-year-old ahead is at the moment coping with a knee damage that places his availability unsure for the decisive matches in Serie A, the place Santos are at critical threat of relegation.
Neymar suffered a knee damage throughout his final recreation with Brazil, in 2023.
“If he’s again in type bodily and feeling good, why not?” Marquinhos stated in the identical interview concerning Neymar’s outlook. “I actually hope he can return to prime type and make it to the World Cup.”
see additionally
Neymar’s nightmare situation? Brazil makes determination on Carlo Ancelotti’s post-2026 World Cup future, and it doesn’t spell excellent news for Santos star
Different stars weigh in on Neymar
Marquinhos shouldn’t be the primary Brazil icon to touch upon a possible Neymar return to the nationwide group. A number of weeks in the past, Casemiro mentioned the identical chance. “If he’s bodily and mentally match, he’s definitely one of the best,” the midfielder stated in an interview with GE. “If he’s in fine condition, he’ll be essential for us as a result of he’s a world-class participant… He’s indispensable for any nationwide group.”
Carlo Ancelotti has additionally spoken repeatedly in regards to the situation, even outlining a timeline for Neymar’s World Cup hopes. “He’s on the checklist of gamers who can go to the World Cup,” the coach admitted. “He now has six months to make the ultimate checklist.”
When was Neymar’s final match with Brazil?
Neymar’s recurring accidents haven’t solely prevented him from enjoying frequently for Santos — and beforehand for Al Hilal and Paris Saint-Germain — however have additionally stored him out of the Brazil nationwide group for an prolonged interval, regardless of being the nation’s all-time main scorer.
The final time Neymar performed a match for Brazil was on October 18, 2023, in a World Cup qualifier towards Uruguay at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. That day, the ahead began however needed to be substituted within the forty fifth minute after struggling a critical knee damage that sidelined him for greater than a yr.
Within the two years since that match, Brazil have had three totally different head coaches — Fernando Diniz, Dorival Junior, and Carlo Ancelotti — and none of them have fielded Neymar in both an official or pleasant match. With simply over six months till the following World Cup, the ahead is racing towards time in pursuit of one other alternative.
