Brazil superstar Neymar has indicated that his international career is over after the five-time World Cup winners were eliminated in the last 16 by Norway on Sunday.
Neymar came on as a late substitute at the MetLife Stadium and scored a penalty deep in injury time, but that was a mere consolation after Erling Haaland netted twice for Norway, securing a 2-1 victory for the European side.
The 34-year-old, Brazil’s all-time top scorer, collapsed in tears when the final whistle went and had to be consoled by teammates. In a brief exchange with a journalist from Brazil’s Globo Esporte after the game, he said: “I tried and I tried. Now it’s over. It began here and it ends here.”
The retirement announcement carries a poignant symmetry. Neymar scored his first goal for Brazil in the same stadium, the MetLife Stadium, in a 2-0 win against the United States back in 2010. His final international appearance, and his last goal for his country, came at the same venue 16 years later.
Neymar’s 128th international goal was his last, and it fittingly came from the penalty spot, a speciality of his. However, it was not enough to prevent Brazil from suffering one of its most disappointing World Cup exits in recent memory.
Worn down by injuries in recent years, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player, now back at his first club Santos, was a surprise inclusion in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the World Cup.
Injury prevented him from featuring in Brazil’s first two group games at the tournament, but he did come on in the 3-0 win over Scotland in Miami, which completed the opening round. That was his first international appearance since October 2023, and his only other appearance in the tournament came in Sunday’s defeat.
Neymar’s retirement marks the end of a 16-year international career that saw him become Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the legendary Pelé. He scored 128 goals in 128 appearances, a remarkable record that cements his place in Brazilian football history.
However, his international career was also defined by near-misses. Despite being part of Brazil’s Confederations Cup win in 2013 and their Copa America triumph in 2019, he never won the World Cup, with Brazil’s 2014 semi-final defeat to Germany on home soil being the closest he came to lifting the sport’s biggest prize.
For Neymar, the focus now shifts entirely to his club career with Santos, the club where he first rose to prominence. For Brazil, the challenge will be to rebuild without their all-time top scorer, with younger players like Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo expected to lead the next generation.
For now, the football world has said goodbye to one of its most gifted and controversial talents at the international level.
