Brazil forward Neymar has dismissed criticism over his fitness as “nonsense” and said he has done everything possible to prove he is ready for the World Cup ahead of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad announcement.
The Santos forward has not played for Brazil since 2023 after a series of injuries and knee surgery that kept him out for a year. His fitness has become one of the main questions before Brazil name their 26-player squad for the tournament in North America.
“Physically, I feel great. I’ve been improving with every game,” Neymar told reporters after Santos’ 3-0 defeat by Coritiba on Sunday.
The 34-year-old said his recovery had required years of work and that public criticism of his condition had been difficult to deal with.
“I’ve done my absolute best — it wasn’t easy,” he said. “It’s been years of hard work, and also of a lot of nonsense being said about my condition and what I was doing.”
Neymar said he was satisfied with his performances since returning to action and would respect Ancelotti’s final decision.
“Whatever happens, Ancelotti will certainly call up the 26 best players,” he said.
Neymar’s fitness under scrutiny
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer but has not featured for the national team since 2023. Ancelotti has said the forward must be fully fit and playing well to be considered for a World Cup place.
His final opportunity to impress before the squad announcement came in Santos’ loss to Coritiba, but the match was disrupted when Neymar was mistakenly substituted. The incident led to a heated protest from the player after officials appeared to remove the wrong player.
The mix-up came a day before Ancelotti was expected to announce Brazil’s World Cup squad.
Brazil’s World Cup group
Brazil will be seeking a record-extending sixth World Cup title at the tournament, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The five-time champions have been drawn in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
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