Neymar's Impact on Brazil's World Cup Journey
Neymar hasn’t kicked a ball at this World Cup yet, but he’s already changed the mood in Brazil’s camp.
Left out of the matchday squads for the 1-1 draw with Morocco and the 3-0 win over Haiti, the No. 10 has been confined to the training pitch. Even so, his mere presence has lifted a group still searching for top gear as they chase first place in Group C.
Lucas Paqueta, speaking on Sunday, made it clear how much that return to the grass means inside the dressing room.
“We're all very happy to see him training and back on the pitch with us. Neymar is a very important player for the Brazilian national team,” he told reporters. “He has an extraordinary history with this shirt and he can still help us a lot. We're glad he's back and we hope he'll be available as soon as possible to contribute to the team.”
For a squad built around young, emerging names, the sight of the country’s modern icon back in full sessions has a symbolic weight. This is still Neymar’s seleção, and his first competitive appearance since 2023 now hangs over the final group game like a tantalising possibility.
Lift from Neymar, blow from Raphinha
The optimism around Neymar is tempered by a significant setback on the opposite flank. Barcelona winger Raphinha is out with a hamstring injury, a loss that cuts into Brazil’s width and rhythm in the final third.
His absence strips some of the natural balance from the attack. Those darting runs, the quick one-twos, the relentless pressing from the right – all suddenly missing at the sharp end of the tournament.
Paqueta underlined how much the group has closed ranks around the former Leeds United man.
“Right now he has the support of the whole group. We're by his side and we'll do everything we can to help him during his recovery,” the Flamengo midfielder said. “He's a guy who works really hard and I'm sure he'll do everything possible to come back as soon as he can. As for his importance, there's not much more to add. He's coming off some extraordinary seasons and has grown a lot with the national team as well.”
The message is clear: Neymar may be the headline, but Raphinha’s injury is a serious tactical and emotional blow in a World Cup that allows little margin for error.
No room for arrogance against Scotland
Brazil arrive at Miami Stadium on top of Group C with four points, but there is no sense of a procession. The table is tight, the margin for misstep even tighter.
Morocco, also on four points, face already eliminated Haiti in the other game. That reality leaves Brazil with a simple equation: win to stay in control. Anything less, and first place could slip away.
Against that backdrop, Paqueta brushed aside any notion that five World Cup stars on the shirt guarantee anything against Scotland.
“All the teams at the World Cup deserve respect. You have to study them and prepare as best as possible to face them,” he said. “We have great respect for Scotland, but we also know we need to play our game and follow what the coach asks of us. Regardless of the opponent, our goal in every match is to win.”
Scotland, chasing a first-ever appearance in the knockout stages, carry their own sense of history into the night. A positive result against Brazil would likely send them through and rewrite their World Cup story in one stroke. They will not arrive to swap shirts and take photos.
For Brazil, the stakes are different but just as sharp. This is about authority, about ironing out the inconsistency of a stuttering draw with Morocco and a more convincing, if expected, dismantling of Haiti. It is about proving that the tournament’s most decorated nation can still impose itself when the pressure tightens.
And hovering over it all is the question that has followed them since the squad list dropped: will Neymar finally step onto the World Cup stage again?
If he does, it will not just be another team sheet change. It will be the return of a talisman to competitive action for Brazil for the first time since 2023, at the exact moment when a World Cup campaign starts to separate contenders from passengers.
