Neymar is currently under fire for his poor performance for Brazil

There’s no denying Neymar is one of the biggest “ifs” in football’s history. His talent at a young age was unlike anything we’ve seen before. After his success in Sao Paolo, he went on to win numerous major trophies in Barcelona. He was even part of one of the deadliest attacking trios – MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar).

However, since he decided to leave Barcelona to join PSG in 2017 for a record-breaking sum, his career has been on a somewhat downward path. He struggled in PSG as he was constantly injured and if that is not enough, instead of reaching his peak at 30 years of age, he moved to Saudi Arabia.

During this time, there was just one constant thing – his dedication and fantastic performances in his national jersey. Not at the moment, though. Lately, he has been under fire for not playing up to standards for Brazil and here we dive into that a bit deeper.

Neymar’s recent statistics for Brazil

Many fans considered Neymar as a key player in Brazil’s qualification games for the 2026 World Cup. They were so “invested” in him that they were even placing bets for him to be the top scorer for the national squad.

After all, one would think that he would fire back at the critics who were saying that his career ended the moment he went to play in Saudi Arabia. Some would bet online with Novibet as the odds were fantastic. After all, online betting sites offer better odds, have bonuses and registration is fast and simple.

Well, let’s just say that the Brazilian did not quite live up to the expectations. First up, he spent most of 2023 off the field as he had an ankle injury. As a result, he did not play in the international friendlies against Morocco (March 25, 2023), Guinea (June 17, 2023) or Senegal (June 20, 2023).

This was not a good sign as the international friendlies are meant for players to get good mileage and adapt to the playing style before the big matches arrive.

To make things worse, his performance during the 2022 World Cup wasn’t anything special. He missed 2 of his 5 matches for Brazil. He scored and assisted against South Korea in the Round of 16. Although he scored again against Croatia, the Vatreni kicked Brazil out of the World Cup on penalties. What’s even worse is that Neymar didn’t even get to shoot a penalty.

Back to the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. So far, Brazil has played 4 games against Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Uruguay. Neymar played the full 90 minutes against Bolivia and Venezuela and was subbed in the last minute against Peru.

He suffered another injury against Uruguay and had to be replaced at halftime. Brazil had mixed results – they won 2, drew 1 and lost 1. However, when it comes to Neymar’s goal contribution, he only scored 2 goals against Bolivia (5:1 result).

Although he assisted against Peru and Venezuela, there was no denying the fact that these games weren’t the best he’s ever had.

Is Neymar to blame or is Brazil under-performing as a whole?

When it comes to the statistics, Neymar isn’t actually too bad. During the WC qualifiers, he has had a goal contribution in 3 of his 4 matches. And remember, he was subbed off in his last game as he got injured.

So, the real question is whether Brazil’s recent mixed results fall on Neymar or not. Well, the answer is as mixed as the results themselves. There are arguments on both sides. First off, let’s start with Neymar himself.

Neymar is on the downside in the past year or two. One argument states that the reason behind his poor performances in Brazil is the fact that he moved to Saudi Arabia. The league there is several classes below European football. In retrospect, the worse the competition is, the lower the standards are and hence, the less is required from him. So, it is easy to see why his form would drop.

On the other hand, you cannot blame just one player for Brazil’s recent form. Granted, he plays a key role in that team, but if you end up having to depend on one player to win you international trophies, then the team is likely to fail at some point. So, in conclusion, Neymar should definitely step up his game. For years he has been the face of the Brazil squad and even in his darkest days, he was able to give it all. But if the team has bad results, then that should not mean that this particular player is the one to blame.

Neymar is currently under fire for his poor performance for Brazil