Neymar sends strong warning ahead of 2026 World Cup: ‘Brazil will be champions again’

As with every World Cup year, 2026 is completely defined by the FIFA tournament, which will take place in North America between June and July. Soccer fans are excited for the event, and players and coaches share the same enthusiasm. Neymar commented on the situation and expressed optimism about Brazil’s chances.

“We’ve started 2026 on the right foot. Now it’s all about June and July,” Neymar recently said, according to BeInSports, before making a bold announcement: “God willing, everything will go well and Brazil will be champions again.”

The 33-year-old forward expressed strong excitement about Brazil’s chance to win the World Cup again — a feat the team has accomplished more than any other in history (five times) but hasn’t managed since their 2002 victory.

That enthusiasm from Neymar goes hand in hand with his own personal process. He is entering the final phase of recovery from knee surgery performed after the 2025 season, in which he was crucial in helping Santos secure their place in Brazil’s Serie A.

Now, just five months before the World Cup begins, Ney makes it clear that his primary goal is to fully recover physically and athletically so that he can be considered by Carlo Ancelotti among the 26 players who will make the roster. That is why he specifically mentioned the months of June and July, when the tournament will take place in North America.

When was Neymar’s last match with Brazil?

A full recovery for Neymar and his participation in the 2026 World Cup would mark a major milestone in recent soccer history. There are few examples of players who have been away from their national team for so long and still managed to make the roster for a FIFA tournament.

Neymar’s last match with Brazil was more than two years ago. On October 17, 2023, he started in his country’s loss to Uruguay in Montevideo during the World Cup qualifiers. That day, the forward had to be substituted in the first half after suffering a severe knee injury that required surgery and kept him off the field for more than a year.

Brazil look to break a historic drought

As the most successful team in World Cup history, the 24 years Brazil have gone without winning the title represent an unusually long drought. In history, only once have they gone longer without lifting the most important soccer trophy.

From the creation of the World Cup in 1930 until Brazil won for the first time in Sweden in 1958, 28 years passed. That is the longest period they have gone without success, though with a caveat: part of that stretch included tournaments canceled due to World War II, so the 1942 and 1946 editions were not held.

After the titles in 1958, 1962, and 1970, Brazil went 24 years without winning again until they lifted the trophy in the United States in 1994, followed by another victory in Japan and South Korea in 2002. Since then, another 24 years have passed, so if Brazil fail to win the World Cup this year, they would match their worst historical drought.