March 06, (THEWILL) – Neymar has been selected for the Brazil national team by manager Dorival Junior after an absence of almost 18 months due to injury. The forward will join the squad for upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Colombia on March 21 and Argentina five days later, marking his return to international football since October 2023.
The 33-year-old scored his first goal in over 14 months last Sunday, converting a penalty for Santos in a 3-1 victory over Agua Santa in the Sao Paulo state championship. This was his 137th goal in 229 appearances for his boyhood club, which he rejoined at the beginning of this month after terminating his contract with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.
Brazil currently sit fifth in the South American qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup, with the top six nations automatically qualifying for the tournament. The five-time world champions hold a five-point advantage over seventh-placed Bolivia after 12 of the 18 qualification rounds.
Neymar suffered a serious knee injury whilst representing Brazil against Uruguay in October 2023, which limited him to just five appearances for Al Hilal following his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The forward had joined the Saudi club in August 2023 on a reported contract worth €100 million per season.
Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 international goals recently stated that the 2026 World Cup will be his final tournament for the national team. Neymar will be 34 years old when the competition begins across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
