Brazil – Former Brazilian football star Romario warned on Saturday that his country’s national team will not lift the 2026 World Cup if it does not rely on the presence of Neymar da Silva, the player of the Saudi Al-Hilal team, in its ranks.
Romario, 58, told the media on the sidelines of his participation in a sporting event: “In Brazil’s history, the champion team has always depended on a big star.”
He continued: “In the 1970 World Cup we had Pele, in 1994 I was there, and in 2002 Ronaldo played the role of the hero, so if Neymar was not there, Brazil would not have won the World Cup.”
He added: “It is very clear to everyone, as long as they do not realize that he is the difference maker, they will continue to make mistakes.”
Neymar has been out of action since October after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in his knee during his country’s match against Uruguay in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Neymar has a distinguished record with the Brazilian national team, as he is the historical top scorer with 79 goals, but the curse of injuries prevented him from participating in a number of matches with the Selecao.
Brazil has won five World Cup titles, but its last victory was in 2002.
Despite Neymar being in the squad for the last three World Cups, Brazil have failed to achieve their ambitions of winning the title.
Romario, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, believes Neymar is still the difference maker in the team and the players must play for him to have a chance of going all the way in 2026.
Neymar has only scored eight goals in three World Cups, only three of which came in the knockout stages, and has only won the 2013 Confederations Cup, having missed the 2019 Copa America triumph for the Selecao due to injury.
Anatolia
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2024-07-22 19:56:28
