Neymar retires from international football after Brazil’s World Cup exit

Brazil superstar Neymar indicated on Sunday that his international career was over after the five-time World Cup winners went out of the tournament in the last 16 at the hands of Norway.

Neymar came on as a late substitute at MetLife Stadium and scored a penalty deep in injury time, but that was a mere consolation after Erling Haaland netted twice for Norway, and Brazil lost 2-1.

The 34-year-old is Brazil’s all-time top scorer, and, ironically, he got his first goal for his country in the same stadium, in a 2-0 win against the United States back in 2010.

“I tried, and I tried. Now it’s over. It began here, and it ends here,” Neymar said in a brief exchange with a journalist from Brazil’s Globo Esporte after the game.

He collapsed in tears when the final whistle went and had to be consoled by teammates.

Worn down by injuries in recent years, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player, now back at his first club, Santos, was a surprise inclusion in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the World Cup.

Injury prevented him from featuring in Brazil’s first two group games at the tournament, but he did come on in the 3-0 win over Scotland in Miami, which completed the opening round.

That was his first international appearance since October 2023, but his only other appearance in the United States came Sunday against Norway.

AFP

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