🔗 Share this article Brazil's Undisputed Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Countdown Challenge While the French winger was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was lying in bed for his third injury of the year - while participating in an online poker tournament. The veteran Brazilian ace eventually placed as runner-up, securing around £73,800 in tournament winnings. It was some consolation on a day when he had to watch the player who once replaced him at Barcelona lift the award he had long hoped to win. Since coming back to his youth team Santos in January, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his on-field performances. His homecoming after 12 seasons away was intended as a chance for him to rediscover his best and, crucially, restore a love of football that seemed diminished after frustrating spells with PSG and the Saudi club. Instead, it has been widely disappointing for everyone concerned. Such is the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament. He's running out of time. "All players have to prove that they are ready. The time is passing [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao stated in his regular feature. On midweek, Brazil manager the Italian tactician announced his team selection for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was excluded. "The Prince", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the national team for 24 months. He continues to be an fitness concern for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the revealing of the final list for the World Cup. "Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, bearing enormous expectations on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said. "But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our expectations on him at the present time is difficult because he has difficulty to even play multiple matches in a row." 'Omission based on skill level signals deeper issues' Not only has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil - he's been absent for nearly half of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a different to the player who during his zenith rivaled Lionel Messi and the Portuguese icon. Of his nine goal contributions so far, half have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus another lower-division opponent, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship. As Santos battle against demotion in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the difference maker he previously represented. Nevertheless, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is ready for the World Cup. "His aim must be to be prepared in June. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, late autumn or spring," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper. Ancelotti caused local discussion last month by reportedly trying to protect Neymar, stating the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues. But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was excluded for tactical decisions; it has no connection to my physical condition." In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar. "If the player we have invested our faith in to win the World Cup is left out for performance issues, obviously there's a problem," Cafu observed. Will Neymar be capable of emulating Ronaldo in 2002? Polls from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided over whether Neymar should be included for his next global tournament. With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't helped his case much with his behaviour on the pitch either. He seems increased agitation than usual, having confronted fans multiple times in venues - it happened in successive games in July. The following month, the forward was reduced to crying after Santos suffered a six-goal home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the worst result of his career. When asked by a reporter about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "This topic again, mate? I've answered this repeatedly already." The identical inquiry has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well. "Neymar's strategy was to spend a limited period at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he earlier stated, causing outrage among followers. There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's prime period aren't over and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in 2002 to surmount doubt and physical setbacks to guide Brazil to the championship trophy. The Brazilian great observes parallels. "He's a crucial player for Brazil - there's no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent event with the forward in Sao Paulo. "It's an overstatement from a minority who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery. Those who have been in football knows perfectly how difficult it is to recover from an injury and restore rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well." The Brazilian forward has a critical period ahead to prove that he's not the heir who relinquished his status.