Carlo Ancelotti says Neymar “has the passion of a boy to play football” after the Brazil superstar made his return to the national team last night.
Neymar’s participation in the World Cup had been delayed by a calf injury sustained playing for Santos just before the squad was announced but he made his long-awaited comeback against Scotland.
The former Barcelona and PSG forward came on with 14 minutes to go to a hero’s reception in Miami with Brazil already 3-0 up and cruising to top spot in Group C.
Ancelotti received plenty of criticism for taking Neymar to the World Cup and was delighted the 34-year-old made an appearance given the hard work he has put in.
“He had the opportunity to play because I think he deserved to play. Neymar recovered very well, very seriously, with a lot of professionalism. I think that, like everyone else, he has the quality to help the team. He played well,” said Ancelotti.
“Neymar doesn’t need motivation, no player needs extra motivation to play for the national team, and with Neymar it’s the same. At 34 years old, he has the passion of a boy to play football.”
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Nervous Neymar proud to be back for Brazil
It was the first time Neymar had pulled on a Brazil shirt since he ruptured an ACL while playing against Uruguay in October 2023 and he admitted to having butterflies before coming on.
“My heart was going a thousand beats, I was very nervous, but happy,” he told GloboTV. “I am proud, everything went well.”
It was a good performance from Brazil albeit they were aided by some woeful Scotland defending. Vinicius Jr scored twice in the first half and Matheus Cunha wrapped up the points after the break.
Ancelotti said: “Now we’re playing as a team, that’s the goal. We are not perfect, we have things to improve. We can be a little faster when we have control. [But] I’m happy because the team has improved a lot, now we are solid. In the knockouts, solidity is very important.
“Compared to the first game [against Morocco], we have fewer mistakes, more pace, more effectiveness in attack. In the two games after Morocco we left a good impression. The goal was to get first place, now it’s down to earth, keep working and improve for the next game.”
Difficult test awaits Brazil
Brazil are assured of a tricky round of 32 clash against the team that finishes second in Group F which will be one of the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden.
“The three potential opponents have a lot of quality, they are different,” added former Real Madrid boss Ancelotti. “The Netherlands are more experienced than Japan, but Japan, before the World Cup, played very beautiful games in the friendlies. And Sweden has a lot of potential up front.”
That game will take place on Monday in Houston.
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