The history of the FIFA World Cup and the history of Brazil as a power in the world of soccer cannot be read separately. It is in this great tournament that the Canarinha have forged their legacy as one of the best, if not the best, National Teams in the history of the sport. All this, thanks to the great players who have defended their colors. From Leonidas, Garrincha and Pelé, to Zico, Sócrates, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho… and now Neymar Jr.
Definitely being the heir of true legends of soccer, not only in Brazil but also worldwide, is a great challenge and responsibility but also a great honor. The Paris Saint Germain star has had the character and above all the talent to withstand the pressure and show that he does not detract from wearing the number ten of a National Team like Brazil, as he will surely do in Qatar 2022.
Precisely at the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Neymar Jr. has a very big commitment: to meet the high expectations that Brazil has once again generated with Tite as coach, after some years of poor results. Qatar 2022 may not be the last edition of this tournament that Ney will play, but it will be the last one in which he will be at his physical peak.
Neymar Jr. at the FIFA World Cup
It is a fact that in the last decade, world soccer has been tyrannized by two monsters of the ball, the Argentine Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, whom history will put on the same table as legends such as Maradona, Pelé, Beckenbauer and Cruyff. However, a few meters behind them, there has always been Neymar da Silva Santos Junior.
Thus, and only overshadowed by Lio and CR7, Neymar Jr has been in charge of demonstrating his quality both in big clubs in Europe and in the Brazil National Team. However, there is one truth that cannot be denied: his success at club level has not been replicated in his country’s jersey. In fact, with the Canariha, Ney has only won a FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and an Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
Neymar Jr’s history at the FIFA World Cup has been short but intense. In total, the player born in February 1992 has played in 2 editions, the one held in his country, Brazil 2014, and the one before Qatar 2022, Russia 2018. In the 2010 World Cup, although he had already made his debut with Santos, he did not reach the notoriety he enjoyed from 2011 onwards, and was not called up by the then coach Dunga.
Thus, the history of Neymar Jr. in the FIFA World Cup is reduced to 10 appearances equally distributed in two editions, which could have been more, but an unfortunate injury in the lumbar spine, after a hard blow received by the Colombian Juan Camilo Zuñiga in the Quarter Finals of Brazil 2014, deprived him of playing the 2 final matches of his National Team, both catastrophic for his country as they ended in resounding defeats against Germany and Netherlands.
However, if there is one reason why soccer fans are lamenting the fact that Neymar Jr has not had more minutes in the history of the FIFA World Cup, it is because his 10 games played so far have been entirely profitable, as he has scored 6 goals (4 at Brazil 2014 and 2 at Russia 2018) and provided 3 assists.
Qatar 2022 represents the opportunity for Neymar Jr to finally break through the Quarter Finals barrier in a World Cup. In Brazil 2014, as already mentioned, an injury deprived him of playing in the Semifinals against Germany, and in Russia 2018, the Belgium of Courtois, De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku shattered his dreams and those of all of Brazil with a 2-1 victory that left them out of the tournament.
It is curious to note that Neymar Jr has previously faced all of the National Teams that Brazil will collide with within Qatar 2022 in the group stage. Serbia and Switzerland were part of the Canarinha’s group in Russia 2018, and Cameroon battled with Brazil during the first stage of the tournament held in 2014.
Neymar Jr, Brazil National Team, Russia 2018. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014
Brazil’s fans were eager for revenge after losing the final of the first World Cup they hosted in 1950. Led by Neymar Jr, Brazil won the Confederations Cup a year earlier, and already in the tournament, looked strong in the group stage, Round of 16 and Quarter Finals. However, in this instance, Ney was injured and coach Scolari did not know how to replace him to face Germany and the result was disastrous. The then Barcelona player went home with 5 games, 4 goals and 1 assist.
The exact moment when Zuñiga breaks Neymar Jr in Brazil 2014. ((Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
FIFA World Cup Russia 2018
With a change in his way of understanding and executing soccer, Neymar Jr. faced his second World Cup with Brazil. He went from being a dribbler and a sprinter, to an orchestra conductor closer to central lanes than to the wing. However, his talent was overcome by the combined forces of Belgian cracks such as De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku, which ended up winning and eliminating Brazil in the Quarter Finals. Ney scored only two goals and provided an equal number of assists.
Neymar Jr, Brazil vs Belgium, FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
