Ancelotti Recalled Neymar, but Brazil National Football Team Will Miss Him in Morocco
Carlo Ancelotti has put Neymar back in the brazil national football team picture for another World Cup attempt, but the forward will not be available for the opener against Morocco. The recall gives Brazil a familiar name for the tournament build-up, yet his absence from the first match keeps the immediate plan incomplete.
Ancelotti and Neymar
Ancelotti recalled Neymar this week and said the 34-year-old could return to training next week. That is the practical next step after a stretch in which Neymar had not played for Brazil since 2023, leaving the squad with one of its most familiar attackers back in the mix but not yet ready for the opening game.
Cafu backed the move. “Neymar can be important for any team,” he said. “Seeing Neymar playing well, physically and technically, that can help the Brazil team a lot.” Asked whether Ancelotti’s call was the right one, Cafu answered: “I think so,” and added, “Ancelotti is an experienced coach, a coach who knows how to set up a team for this type of competition.”
Brazil and Morocco
The immediate problem is simpler than the larger debate around Neymar’s place in the squad: he will miss Brazil’s World Cup opener against Morocco. That leaves Ancelotti to plan the first match without a player who has been central to Brazil discussions for more than a decade, even as the coach keeps him in the tournament group and open for a return to training next week.
Neymar’s national team run has been marked by long interruptions. He was excluded as a teenager in 2010 despite popular demand, injury denied him his moment on home soil in 2014, and injury again disrupted his momentum before 2018 and during 2022. In that 2022 quarter-final against Croatia, he scored in extra time before Croatia equalised in the 117th minute and Brazil went out on penalties.
Santos and World Cup plans
This year, Neymar made eight appearances for Santos in the Brazilian top division, and all eight came at home. That is the most concrete recent evidence of where his game stands as Brazil tries to map out the next stage of its World Cup build-up under Ancelotti.
The selection also left Joao Pedro out of the squad after he failed to seize his opportunities with the Selecao. Brazil still has a tournament front line to settle, but the first decision is already made: Neymar is back in the group, and Morocco comes too soon for him to play.
