Neymar quits international football after Brazil’s World Cup knockout loss
NEYMAR says he is done playing for Brazil’s national team, making the announcement after he and his teammates were knocked out of the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Norway in the round of 16.
“I tried,” Neymar said after the match on Sunday. “It started here, at MetLife Stadium, and I finished here. It is now over.”
Neymar, 34, played his first game for Brazil on August 10, 2010 – a friendly against the United States at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
He is Brazil’s all-time top scorer, and ironically, he got his first goal for his country ahead of global football icon Pele.
Against Norway, he scored from a penalty kick in the final minutes after being brought on as a substitute. He collapsed in tears when the final whistle went and had to be consoled by teammates.
Neymar appeared in only two of Brazil’s five games in the tournament due to a nagging right calf injury. He was also on the field for 15 minutes against Scotland in group play.
Brazil’s best player for more than a decade had been slowed by injuries in recent years that limited his impact. The country is now entering a period of transition, with the next generation taking over.
“We ask that people will have patience with the new generation and support them from the get-go,” Captain Marquinhos said.
Brazil were bounced from the 2026 World Cup on Sunday as Erling Haaland sent Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time ever with a 2-0 win at MetLife Stadium.
In a game that lacked chemistry, chances and all-around quality on the ball, Norway stepped up when it mattered most, with Haaland heading home a cross in the 79th minute before a low finish from outside the box in the 90th minute, making history in the process.
The two goals give Haaland seven on the tournament, tying him for the Golden Boot lead with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe as the world's biggest stars continue to fight it out.
With the game level at the half, Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti made moves in the second half to try and get his attack going, bringing on Endrick and Neymar at different times, the former missing one-on-one that would have turned the tide.
The latter scored a late penalty kick for Brazil, bringing a consolation goal in the games dying moments, but there was no miracle in the cards.
This was Norway's third appearance in the World Cup round of 16 in history after 1938 and 1998, the latter of which saw them beat Brazil in the group stage.
They now move on to face the winner of England vs. Mexico. This result keeps the incredible statistic alive of Norway being the only national team to have faced Brazil and never suffered defeat, winning three and drawing two.
