The door to the World Cup is nearly closed: What happened to Neymar being dropped again from Brazil's team?","tags":["football","World Cup","Neymar","Brazil national team"]
17 Mar 2026 GMT+7 — With only three months left until the 2026 World Cup, the name fans worldwide most eagerly awaited was missing from the official 26-player Brazil squad announced by coach Carlo Ancelotti on Monday night.
Neymar Jr., 34, the Brazilian football superstar, was once again excluded from the squad.
What exactly happened?
Ancelotti announced a 26-player squad for the North American tour in March, including newcomers Gabriel Sara from Galatasaray and Ryan from Bournemouth, but Neymar's name was absent. Brazil is set to face France on 26 March at Gillette Stadium, Massachusetts, and Croatia on 31 March in Orlando, Florida.
Since Ancelotti took over as Brazil's coach in May, he has never called up Neymar even once.
Recurring injuries — a prolonged tragedy.
Neymar has not played for Brazil since October 2023 after suffering an ACL injury during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. That means he has been away from the national team for more than 29 months.
Neymar returned to play for Santos in February, scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists in his last 4 matches, totaling 315 minutes on the field, but this has not been enough to impress Ancelotti.
Behind the scenes: Coach flew to watch the game, but Neymar didn’t play.
Ancelotti traveled from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo specifically to watch Neymar’s match when Santos faced Mirassol, but Neymar was not in the lineup, surprising officials at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) who expected him to play.
Furthermore, the CBF previously did not post birthday wishes to Neymar on their official social media, which upset Neymar enough to "unfollow" their official account.
The Italian coach stated at a press conference, “Neymar is not yet at 100% fitness, so he is not in the team. If he reaches full fitness, he has a chance for the World Cup. Neymar must work hard, play regularly, and show he is in good physical condition.”
Why are his chances nearly gone?
ESPN reports that Ancelotti has locked in 18 of the 26 World Cup players, and Neymar is not among them.
Brazil’s current attacking lineup includes Vinícius Júnior from Real Madrid, Raphinha from Barcelona, Gabriel Martinelli from Arsenal, João Pedro from Chelsea, as well as Matheus Cunha from Manchester United and Endrick—all fit and consistently performing.
Combined with the fact that after this window there will be almost no more national team matches before the World Cup, Neymar’s path back becomes increasingly difficult each day.
Who is Neymar? Why is everyone still waiting?
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time top scorer and one of the most famous players in Brazilian football history, having played for Barcelona, PSG, and Al-Hilal before returning home to Santos.
But this World Cup may be his last realistic chance due to age, and the door is slowly closing right before him.