"He still has two months to prove he is fully fit." That's Carlo Ancelotti, on Neymar, and it's the most diplomatically loaded sentence in Brazilian football right now.
Speaking to France Football, the Seleção head coach confirmed that the veteran forward's return to the national squad is "possible" — but conditional. Fully fit, sharp, and maintaining his current recovery pace. Anything short of that, and Brazil's all-time leading scorer watches the World Cup from the outside.
Where Neymar actually stands
The forward hasn't pulled on the yellow shirt since October 2023, when he ruptured his knee against Uruguay. That's nearly two years of absence from international football. He returned to Santos in early 2025, has started finding the net again, and sat out Brazil's recent friendlies against France (lost 2-1) and Portugal (lost 3-1) — results that, incidentally, don't exactly scream "we've got this covered without him."
Casemiro is publicly backing him. Ancelotti is cautiously monitoring him. The Brazilian Football Confederation is assessing him. That's a lot of watching for a player who, at 34 with a reconstructed knee, still needs to prove he can last 90 minutes at tournament intensity.
Ancelotti put it plainly: "I will only call up players who are physically ready." That's not a door being thrown open — it's a narrow gap with conditions attached.
The MLS subplot nobody should ignore
Meanwhile, US media report that preliminary talks are already underway between Neymar's representatives and Cincinnati FC over a potential MLS move by 2027. Whether that's leverage, contingency planning, or the actual endgame is hard to say — but it adds a strange backdrop to his World Cup push. A player negotiating his retirement destination while fighting for a spot in Brazil's squad.
With 79 international goals, Neymar's place in Brazilian football history is already written. What happens between now and June 11th — when the World Cup kicks off — determines whether there's one more chapter, or whether Santos is the quiet ending. His World Cup odds, and Brazil's, hang on the same question: is the knee actually right?
