🔗 Share this article The Brazilian Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time As the French winger was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was receiving treatment for his latest physical setback of the year - while participating in an virtual card tournament. The veteran football star eventually placed as runner-up, securing around seventy-three thousand pounds in prize money. It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona claim the award he had consistently dreamed to win. After coming back to his youth team Santos in the new year, the 33-year-old forward has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for comparable situations than for his on-field performances. His homecoming after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to rediscover his best and, most importantly, rekindle a love of football that seemed gone after frustrating spells with PSG and the Saudi club. Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for all parties involved. This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will make it to the 2026 World Cup. He's running out of time. "Even the stars have to demonstrate that they are prepared. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao commented in his regular feature. On Wednesday, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and Japan and, once again, Neymar was not in it. "The Prince", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a reference to the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the Selecao for two years. He also remains an injury doubt for the November games, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of exhibition games in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup. "Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, shouldering enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu stated. "But no one wins the World Cup alone. Placing all our hopes on him at the moment is problematic because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row." 'Technical exclusion raises serious questions about Neymar' Not only has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his homecoming - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a far cry from the player who during his prime competed with the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo. Of his several attacking returns so far, five have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's first division - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a goal and two assists versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship. As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the number 10 no longer seems to be the difference maker he once was. Nevertheless, Ancelotti has maintained that the forward has plenty of time to show he is fit for the World Cup. "His objective must be to be ready in summer. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in autumn, November or spring," the Italian told French media. Ancelotti caused local debate last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, suggesting the star had been omitted from the team over fitness concerns. But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was left out for tactical decisions; it has nothing to do with my physical condition." In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar. "If the player we have pinned our dreams on to deliver the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, obviously there's a problem," Cafu commented. Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example? Studies from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided over whether Neymar should be included for his next global tournament. With his 79 goals, 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 more on edge than normal, having argued with fans repeatedly in stadiums - it happened in successive games in mid-year. The following month, the striker was reduced to crying after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by their rivals - the worst result of his career. When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this 500 times already." The similar query has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well. "Neymar's strategy was to remain for a limited period at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, so be it," he earlier stated, causing anger among followers. There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's peak years remain possible and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the World Cup title. The Brazilian great sees similarities. "He's a vital player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent event with the forward in the Brazilian city. "It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's disregarding his fitness rehabilitation. Those who have been in football knows perfectly how difficult it is to come back from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's progressing well." The Santos star has a critical period ahead to show that he's not the heir who stepped away from greatness.