Neymar promises to score in the 2026 World Cup final: What are the chances?
Ever since he first stepped onto the biggest stage, Neymar Jr has kept people talking.
Even when results on the pitch have not gone his way, as has often been the case in recent years, he still stirs strong reactions, both from those who back him and from those who think he could, and should, have had a better career.
Most football fans know Neymar for the goals he scored for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Punters have not forgotten him either, especially those who regularly bet online and check sports predictions on sites such as Legalbet, which lists matches across different leagues and shows which bookmakers are offering the best prices on specific outcomes.
Neymar is now playing in Brazil’s Serie A, but he has once again put himself in the spotlight, making a bold promise to a football-mad nation — one that links directly to the next World Cup.
“We’re going to do the possible and also impossible to bring the World Cup to Brazil. In July you can hold me accountable. If we get to the final… I promise I’ll score a goal!” Neymar said, making headlines around the world once again.
What the draw says
In that statement, he also mentioned Brazil’s manager, the renowned Italian tactician Carlo Ancelotti.
One of the most successful managers in football history has taken on the challenge of leading FIFA’s most decorated national team, a side that, since the celebrated 2002 generation, has had more disappointment than success.
That is exactly why Neymar Jr’s stance feels unusual, yet completely in keeping with his character.
The best Brazilian footballer of the 21st century has come out with a claim like that even though Brazil’s route there has not inspired much confidence.
They have qualified for the World Cup, which will be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July 2026, but they have not done so convincingly.
As the draw has it, Brazil will play in Group C in the United States and Canada. On paper, it looks a fairly kind draw: alongside the strongest African side, Morocco, they will face Haiti and Scotland.
Brazilian fans, as ever, expect a lot.
Still, there is a sense of skepticism around this squad and its overall quality, especially when you compare them with sides such as Spain, England and, of course, their biggest rivals Argentina.
The Seleção do have a few standout stars — Vinicius Júnior, the young Rodrygo, and an 18-year-old Chelsea prodigy Estevao, for example — but they lack chemistry and do not yet look like a team that knows how to win consistently.
If anyone can change that, it is Carlo Ancelotti. The question is whether the famous Italian will even include Neymar in the squad he plans to take to North America.
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Back to his roots
Even though he remains Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, with 79 goals in 128 official appearances, Neymar’s career has been in decline for some time.
After leaving Paris, he signed an eye-watering contract with Saudi side Al Hilal, yet he made just seven appearances there.
In an attempt to get himself back on track, Neymar chose to return home.
More specifically, he went back to Santos, the club he left in 2013 when he moved to Barcelona. Injuries followed him there too, and he missed a large chunk of a season in which Santos were battling to stay up.
His numbers are still respectable: 11 goals and four assists in 28 matches, including an excellent hat-trick against Juventude.
Even if he is fully fit next summer, the question remains: can Neymar, who turns 34 in February, still handle the physical demands of a tournament of that size?
Brazil’s Serie A is not known for relentless intensity, yet even there his troublesome left knee has let him down again.
If he wants to convince Ancelotti that he still has something to offer Brazil, Neymar needs sustained form and he needs to show he merits a place ahead of the many Brazilian players waiting for a call-up.
Even at his peak — the 2018 World Cup being a good example — plenty of analysts felt Neymar’s ego weighed the team down, and that Brazil made a mistake by building their game around their number 10.
Is there a place for sentiment?
Modern football is a different game in many ways, and a seasoned operator like Carlo Ancelotti knows that.
You need players who can press high up the pitch, recover quickly and move the ball at speed in transition, exactly what Estevao has been showing week after week in the Premier League.
Neymar is no longer untouchable. It is hard enough to see where he fits in a 25-man squad, let alone in the starting XI.
Be that as it may, football isn’t only about numbers.
It’s about emotion too. There would be something fitting about Neymar signing off in the yellow shirt on the biggest stage.
As for his promise, there is an old line that form comes and goes, but class stays.
If Neymar really did make it to a final, who would be brave enough to say he could not score — exactly as he has promised?
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