Brazil's Neymar Announces Retirement from National Team After Round of 16 Exit

Brazilian football star Neymar (34, Santos) has announced his retirement from the national team, stating, "My career with the national team is over," after Brazil was eliminated in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

The Brazilian national team lost 1-2 to Norway, led by Erling Haaland who scored two goals, in the Round of 16 match held today at the New Jersey Stadium in New York, USA.

With this result, Brazil, which holds the record for the most World Cup titles (5), has been eliminated early from the tournament.

This marks the first time in 36 years that Brazil has been knocked out in the Round of 16 of a World Cup, since the 1990 tournament in Italy (a 0-1 loss to Argentina).

Neymar was substituted into the match in the 23rd minute of the second half with the score at 0-0 and scored a consolation goal via a penalty kick during stoppage time, but he could not prevent Brazil's elimination.

After the match, Neymar sat on the pitch and wept despite being consoled by his teammates.

According to reports from the BBC and others, Neymar told Brazil's Globo, "I did my best," adding, "It is over. I started here and I finished here."

Neymar made his debut for the Brazilian national team at this same stadium in a friendly match against the United States in August 2010, where he scored a goal to help secure a 2-0 victory.

Neymar is the all-time leading scorer for Brazil with 80 goals in international matches.

He has made 130 appearances for the Brazilian national team, ranking second all-time behind Cafu (142 matches).

He has participated in four consecutive World Cups, starting from the 2014 tournament in Brazil to this year's event.

Neymar had not been called up to the Brazilian national team since a South American qualifier for the North America World Cup against Uruguay in October 2023 due to an injury, but he managed to make the final World Cup roster.

However, after suffering an injury to his right calf while playing for his club, Santos, he spent his time focusing on treatment and rehabilitation after joining the Brazilian national team. He played his first match of the tournament as a second-half substitute in the final group stage match against Scotland (a 3-0 Brazil victory).

The match against Norway was his second of the tournament and became his final appearance for the national team.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.