Brazil and Japan played an absolute nail-biter of a game during the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup. In the end, the ‘Scratch du Oro’ was able to go through thanks to a last-minute goal. It was noteworthy that manager Carlo Ancelotti had Neymar on the bench, but didn’t use him despite the high-stakes affair.
Speaking in a postgame interview, Ancelotti explained the following situation regarding Neymar. “Why didn’t I put Neymar in? I was waiting for extra time. I discussed it with him: if we didn’t equalize, he would come on in the 60th or 65th minute... It’s just that I didn’t want to change the structure; we had control of the game.” Brazil will now have a clear idea of who they will face in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup and when.
Hence, Neymar was well in the plans for Ancelotti, it just so happened that Gabriel Martinelli’s game-winning goal stopped that plans in its tracks, given that there was no extra time then. This goal prevented Japan to seek their best finish in a World Cup.
Neymar has had limited presence for Brazil in 2026 World Cup
Neymar has played a total of 14 minutes in the 2026 World Cup. He made his tournament debut in the group-stage finale against Scotland on June 24, coming off the bench as a substitute in the 76th minute. He missed Brazil’s first two group matches due to a calf injury.
Head Coach of Brazil Carlo Ancelotti speaks to the media.
Hence, even if this is Neymar’s last dance in a World Cup, he is not being very involved with the roster. The calf injury really took many of his options to start, and also made him fall in the pecking order. That doesn’t make him feel less important though. In fact, Neymar celebrated the win over Japan by calling out a mathematician who predicted Brazil to lose.
Ancelotti’s super subs don’t involve Neymar
Ancelotti lost starter Raphinha due to injury, so Rayan has gotten the starting role now. Still, Ancelotti uses Endrick and Martinelli as subs more often than Neymar. For the Italian head coach, the hierarchy puts both Endrick and Martinelli above Neymar’s services. That was seen clearly in the match vs Japan.
Neymar is still a very important part of the roster in terms of experience, World Cup presence, and overall talent. However, this is a stacked team with a loaded attacking unit, so coming off an injury and at 34 years old, it’s not the best of scenarios for the Santos player.
