Why isn’t Neymar playing for Brazil against Colombia in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier?
The FIFA World Cup 2022 ended in tears for Neymar and Brazil, who were defeated by Croatia in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals. There had been plenty of talk as to whether the former Barcelona and PSG attacker would retire from international soccer following the tournament, but come the start of the FIFA World 2026 qualifier s in September, he was in his usual spot leading the Brazilian attack. Neymar passes Pelé as Brazil’s top scorer Following a big-money move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal , the 31-year-old wasted little time in putting his international disappointment behind him, scoring his 78th and 79th goals for his country in the very first qualifier against Bolivia, taking him past Pelé's all-time record for Brazil. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NJ 🇧🇷 (@neymarjr) Former Barça star suffers ACL tear A little over a month later, however, and Neymar, who missed the latter stages of the 2014 World Cup on home soil through injur...