Brazil’s all-time leading scorer Neymar Jr. announced his retirement from international football on Sunday after the five-time champions crashed out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the Round of 16 at MetLife Stadium.
The 34-year-old forward called time on his international career moments after Brazil’s hopes of winning a sixth World Cup title were ended by Erling Haaland’s late brace. Neymar scored a stoppage-time penalty, but it proved to be only a consolation.
Reflecting on the end of his international journey, Neymar told reporters, as quoted by ESPN UK, “I tried, I tried. Now it’s over. I started here; I finished here.”
The penalty, converted in the 10th minute of added time after Leo Ostigard was penalised for fouling Casemiro, was Neymar’s first goal of the tournament. It took his international tally to 80 goals and 59 assists in 130 appearances, extending his record as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer.
Neymar’s retirement brings the curtain down on one of the most celebrated international careers in Brazilian football. He helped Brazil win the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and also claimed Olympic gold on home soil at the Rio 2016 Games.
His place in Brazil’s World Cup squad had remained uncertain until the final stages of selection because of fitness concerns, but head coach Carlo Ancelotti included the veteran in his 26-man squad in the hope that his experience would inspire another deep run.
Instead, Brazil’s campaign ended in dramatic fashion. Norway absorbed sustained pressure before Haaland opened the scoring in the 79th minute with a towering header from Andreas Schjelderup’s cross. The Manchester City striker then added his second soon after to put Norway 2-0 ahead and move level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on seven goals in the race for the Golden Boot.
Neymar pulled one back from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, but Brazil could not mount a comeback as Norway reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
For Brazil, the defeat marked a seventh successive World Cup knockout-stage loss to European opposition and their earliest World Cup exit since 1990, while Neymar’s farewell brought to a close an international career that spanned more than a decade.
(ANI)
