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After Santos’ defeat to Novorizontino in the Paulistão, Neymar will have only three more games to show that he is fit to return to play for the Brazilian National Team.

Gaining playing time was the main asset for the number 10 to try to convince Carlo Ancelotti, and the State Championship would have been a way to have more games to prove himself.

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The Brazilian National Team coach will announce the list of names for the friendlies against France and Croatia on March 16, the last commitments before the 2026 World Cup.

With the early elimination in the state championship, the attacker’s preparation schedule has decisively shrunk.

If Santos had reached the Paulistão final, scheduled for March 4 and 8, Neymar would have had up to seven more games to play, including the quarterfinals against Novorizontino.

Now, only three guaranteed matches remain, all in the Brazilian Championship, before the call-up:

• February 26: against Vasco

• March 10: against Mirassol

• March 15: against Corinthians

With the reduced schedule and recent questioned performance, there is doubt about the future of the number 10 in the Brazilian National Team.

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So, do you think he deserves to be on Carleto’s list? Share your opinion in the comments!

Underwhelming performance resonates abroad

The performance of the 34-year-old player was far from ideal in Santos’ elimination in the Paulista Championship.

Heavily marked throughout the match, Neymar had little creative influence and ended up being negatively decisive at the end of the first half, getting involved in the play that led to the first goal of the game, scored by Rômulo.

The elimination resonated in the European press.

The Spanish newspaper AS described the episode as “Neymar’s disaster,” highlighting that the setback takes away the Brazilian’s chance to win a title that would inevitably bring him closer to the World Cup.

National Team’s schedule planned until the World Cup

03/16 – Call-up for March friendlies

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03/23 – Presentation in Orlando

03/26 – Brazil vs. France, in Boston

03/31 – Brazil vs. Croatia, in Orlando

05/19 – Call-up for the World Cup

05/25 – Start of preparation at Granja

05/31 – Brazil vs. Panama, at Maracanã

06/01 – Travel to the USA

06/06 – Brazil vs. Egypt, in Cleveland

06/13 – World Cup debut against Morocco

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.