Neymar’s troubled path to the upcoming World Cup narrowed further after his subdued performance for Santos in a 1-1 home draw against rival Corinthians in a Brazilian league match.

It was Neymar’s last game before Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti announces his squad for two key friendlies on Monday.

Neymar is Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals.

Brazil’s matches against France and Croatia in the United States will, in turn, be the two last games before Ancelotti announces his final squad in May for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.

The 34-year-old Neymar’s performance against Corinthians came after he missed a match that the Brazil coach attended.

Memphis Depay opened the scoring on Sunday for Corinthians in the 19th minute at the Vila Belmiro Stadium. Gabriel Barbosa equalized four minutes later.

Neymar’s best chance in Sunday’s game was a second-half header that narrowly missed. The Santos striker struggled to dribble and didn’t shoot on goal.

Two staffers of Brazil’s soccer confederation attended the match in Santos, the club said. 

“I wish to go back to the national team and play in the World Cup, but that’s not up to me,” a disappointed Neymar told journalists after the match in Santos. “Whether I am there or not, I will always cheer for Brazil.” 
Ancelotti has said he will only take players who are 100% fit to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. He has also suggested that some players need no testing, which keeps Neymar with some hopes of making the final squad even if he is not picked for the next two friendlies.

Neymar suffered an ACL injury in October 2023 and went through another knee surgery in December. He has played less than 10 matches for Santos this year, but he has also shown glimpses of what he could still bring to Brazil.

In February, he broke into the top 10 of Santos club’s all-time leading scorers after scoring twice in a 2-1 win against Vasco da Gama in the Brazilian league.

Fans of Neymar fear that his decision to miss a match against Mirassol on Tuesday, in another Brazilian league game, might have taken him out of his fourth consecutive World Cup.

Local media reports said Ancelotti was not informed about the striker’s absence until a few hours before the game at the 19,000-seater Jose Maria de Campos Maia Stadium.