Brazil answered the question on May 18 by naming Neymar to its World Cup roster, putting him back in the frame for the 2026 tournament after months of doubt. For the first time in two years, his name was on a Brazil squad list.
That selection mattered because Neymar had spent much of the past year and a half trying to get back on the pitch, not into a World Cup conversation. He appeared in only seven matches for Al Hilal over that stretch after tearing his ACL in a Brazil match a couple of months after moving to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, then enduring an entire year out and a series of hamstring injuries once he returned.
His route back has been stop-start from the beginning. Al Hilal did not register him for the second half of the league season, and the club later agreed with Neymar to terminate his contract and part ways with about six months still left on the deal. He then returned to Santos, where his first season back in Brazil was marked by poor performances and more nagging injuries, while the club spent the whole season around the relegation zone.
That is why the roster call landed as more than a routine announcement. Carlo Ancelotti had left Neymar out of every international window before May 18, saying his talent was never in question but that he had to prove he was physically fit enough to handle the demands of the game before he would be considered. Still, Ancelotti called his name when the squad was unveiled, ending the latest round of uncertainty without fully settling the bigger one.
The unresolved issue is not whether Neymar can still make a Brazil roster. He did. It is whether he can stay healthy long enough to matter in the tournament itself, after two years without a Brazil appearance and a run of injuries that kept turning every comeback into another delay.
