Neymar’s closing act before learning his World Cup fate was a bizarre and emotionally-charged one, leaving Neymar in a fit of rage as he was forced to exit the field.
The 34-year-old Brazilian legend will discover on Monday whether or not he was selected to represent his nation at the quadrennial tournament this summer. Manager Carlo Ancelotti included him in his preliminary 55-man roster last week, but cracking into the final 26-man squad will prove much harder.
Neymar has not represented the historic Seleção since October 2023, plagued by injuries and fitness concerns in the ensuing years and most recently snubbed from the March international window. It was an ACL tear back in 2023 that ended his regular international participation, and he required arthroscopy knee surgery last December, keeping him out of Santos’ first 12 matches this season.
Nevertheless, Neymar has been making a compelling World Cup case. He has regained fitness since his most recent injury, starring for Santos FC regularly since his return to play in February. The former FC Barcelona forward is also Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 goals in 128 total appearances, surpassing Pelé back in 2023, and has starred at the World Cup in its past three editions.
Neymar’s last-gasp outing in Santos’ Série A match on Sunday didn’t do anything to impress Ancelotti—Neymar’s boyhood club lost 3–0 to Coritiba; however, it most certainly turned his head, solely due to its wild nature.
Neymar Wrongly Substituted
Prior to the opening whistle, Neymar was viewed heavily crying and wiping his eyes during the Brazilian national anthem, perhaps in part due to his often-stated desire to represent his country next month and the stress of being a fringe player.
The captain started the match at striker, but struggled to contribute offensively, notching just a single shot on target and creating just two chances across his time on the pitch.
Things took a turn for the worst when he was accidentally substituted off in the 65th minute, the result of an apparent error made by the fourth referee official, who held up Neymar’s number on the substitution board by mistake. The substitution was supposed to be made for No. 31, Santos defender Gonzalo Escobar.
Neymar was near the sidelines having his calf sprayed when the referee informed him that he was to exit the pitch in place of Robinho Junior, which took Neymar by surprise.
“I knew Robinho was coming in, but I wasn’t even watching [the board],” Neymar said post-match. “I didn’t know I had been substituted, I had not seen the board. It was a very serious mistake by the officials, by the fellow who puts the numbers on the board.”
Santos coach Cuca and Neymar both informed the center referee Paulo Zanovelli that there had been a big mistake; however, given the substitution had already been called and Robinho had taken the field, it was made official.
Neymar, visibly upset, argued with the referee for several minutes, before receiving a yellow card for refusing the substitution. He then stormed off the field to grab the official substitution request sheet and held it up to the broadcast to prove the error.
Given Neymar lost out on his final 25 minutes of play to impress Ancelotti, he will hope he has done enough in the past couple of months to earn a spot in North America this summer.
READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
- Messi’s Intense World Cup Training Regimen—Revealed
- Five USMNT Players At Risk of Not Being Selected for the 2026 World Cup
- The Four Burning Questions the USMNT Must Answer Ahead of the World Cup
- Drake’s Soccer Connections—Recruitment, Davies and World Cup Hype
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Neymar Wrongly Substituted in Last Attempt to Impress Ancelotti Before World Cup.
