Carlo Ancelotti‘s final decision was to leave Neymar out of the squad for Brazil‘s upcoming matches against France and Croatia. The absence of the Santos FC player sparked controversy, as he’s in excellent form and his numbers speak for themselves.
Neymar’s numbers compared to the other attackers called up
Neymar has more goals plus assists (G/A) in his last 8 games than every attacker Carlo Ancelotti included for the upcoming international break.
- Neymar: 10 G/A
- João Pedro: 7 G/A
- Vinícius Júnior: 5 G/A
- Endrick: 5 G/A
- Rayan: 5 G/A
- Raphinha: 4 G/A
- Igor Thiago: 4 G/A
- Matheus Cunha: 3 G/A
- Gabriel Martinelli: 2 G/A
- Luiz Henrique: 2 G/A
Neymar’s reaction after being left out
“I’m going to say it here because I can’t let it pass. Obviously, I’m upset and sad about not being called up. But my focus remains the same: day after day, training after training, match after match. We’ll achieve our goal. There’s still one final Brazil squad call-up left, and the dream continues. That’s it-we’re in this together,” Neymar declared.
Ancelotti on excluding Neymar
“It’s a physical evaluation, not a technical one. With the ball, he’s very good, but he needs to improve physically. For the coaching staff and for me, he’s not at 100% of his potential; he has to work to reach it,” the coach stated.
“That’s my opinion and that of the entire Brazil coaching staff, who follow his matches and will continue to watch his upcoming games,” Ancelotti (Carletto) added.
This omission comes as a setback for Neymar’s 2026 World Cup hopes, with these Brazil friendlies serving as one of the last major tests before the final World Cup squad decisions. Despite his strong recent output at Santos-including 10 G/A in his last 8 club matches-Carlo Ancelotti emphasized the need for full physical readiness over current form alone.
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