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The end of the Neymar era in Brazil
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

The end of the Neymar era in Brazil

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Neymar's 16-year international career with Brazil's national team has concluded after their elimination from the World Cup.
  • The forward ends his tenure as Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 80 goals, but failed to win a World Cup.
  • His final match was a 2-1 loss to Norway in the Round of 16, where he scored a penalty in extra time.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior's 16-year era with the Brazilian national football team has come to an end following their 2-1 defeat to Norway in the World Cup Round of 16. The forward, who began his Seleção journey on October 10, 2010, finishes his international career with 80 goals, making him Brazil's all-time leading scorer, though his ultimate goal of winning a World Cup remained unfulfilled.

His final appearance mirrored his debut in terms of venue, the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, but under vastly different circumstances. In 2010, the then 18-year-old was hailed as Pelé's successor after dazzling with Santos. Despite his individual brilliance across four World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026), Brazil could not secure the coveted sixth title during his tenure.

Neymar's World Cup campaigns were marked by near misses and significant setbacks. A fractured vertebra ruled him out of the humiliating 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany in 2014. Later, Belgium and Croatia ended Brazil's hopes in the quarter-finals of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, respectively. In the most recent World Cup, he played a limited role due to injury, appearing only briefly in the group stage and for about half an hour against Norway, where he scored a penalty in extra time before Erling Haaland's late brace sealed Brazil's fate.

I started here and I finish here. Now it's over.

— NeymarThe player's statement to the GeTV channel after his final match for Brazil.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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