EL ALTO, Bolivia: Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Neymar’s physical condition will be crucial for his inclusion in the national team for next year’s World Cup, following the 33-year-old forward’s omission from recent qualifiers.
Ancelotti left Neymar out of his 23-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia, citing a minor leg muscle injury. However, Neymar later said his exclusion was for technical reasons.
The former Barcelona and Paris St. Germain player has not donned the famous yellow jersey since October 2023, when he suffered serious knee ligament injuries that have plagued his comeback attempts.
“We are not going to observe how Neymar plays, obviously. Everyone knows his talent,” Ancelotti told ESPN Brasil on Friday.
“In modern football, to take advantage of his talent, the player has to be in good physical condition. If he is in his best physical condition, he will have no problems being in the national team.
“Everyone wants Neymar in the national team in good physical condition. I spoke with him and I said, ‘You have time to prepare in the best way to be there and help the team try to do their best in the World Cup’.”
Neymar has shown flashes of brilliance since returning to his boyhood club, Santos, from Saudi side Al-Hilal.
However, his struggles were laid bare last month when he left the pitch in tears following Santos’ crushing 6-0 defeat by Vasco da Gama.
Ancelotti said he sees Neymar playing centrally, either as an attacking midfielder or striker.
“I spoke with him ... Everything is clear, the idea remains the same,” Ancelotti said.
“He can’t play on the outside because modern football needs forward who have physical quality, it’s very important. He can play as an attacking midfielder without problems.”
Brazil, who have already qualified for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, will next be in action when they face South Korea in a friendly match in Seoul on October 10.
Neymar won’t have problems securing Brazil WC spot if in top shape, says Ancelotti
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Neymar won’t have problems securing Brazil WC spot if in top shape, says Ancelotti
- Ancelotti left Neymar out of his 23-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia, citing a minor leg muscle injury. However, Neymar later said it was for technical reasons
Real Madrid handed shock home loss as Celta Vigo spring surprise
- Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins
MADRID: Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-0 loss and finished with nine men against Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Sunday after Williot Swedberg scored an audacious goal with his heel and a second in stoppage time to leave the hosts four points off leaders Barcelona.
Swedish substitute Swedberg cleverly diverted a cross from Bryan Zaragoza past Thibaut Courtois in the 53rd minute to put Celta ahead and had an easy finish three minutes into added time, going around the goalkeeper to wrap up the points.
Real’s cause was not helped by the 64th minute dismissal of Fran Garcia, who picked up two yellow cards in 60 seconds, but they laid siege to the visitors’ goal for the last 20 minutes as Celta went into a defensive shell to hold onto their advantage.
Real defender Alvaro Carreras was also dismissed for two cautions, his second coming in stoppage time at the end of the game as the home side’s frustrations boiled over.
It was a second clean sheet in 15 league games this season for Celta, whose keeper Ionut Radu made a first-half save from Jude Bellingham’s header and stopped a second-half free-kick whipped in by Kylian Mbappe.
Real stay on 36 points from 16 games as Celta celebrated a first win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 19 years, leaving the Galician club with 19 points.
“With the team they have and their quality, it’s difficult to match them, but we read the game well,” said Celta striker Borja Iglesias. “We had possession, we played in their half, we played a fantastic match.”
Celta jumped from 14th to 10th while the defeat ended Real’s 100 percent home league record this season after six successive wins.
Xabi Alonso’s stuttering Real team have now won only one of their last five league games as they await the midweek arrival of Manchester City in the Champions League.
Earlier on Sunday, Espanyol moved up to fifth as Roberto Fernandez’s first half penalty handed them a 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano as both sides finished with 10 men.
Elche’s Rafa Mir scored twice as they ran out 3-0 home winners over struggling Girona, while hosts Valencia and Sevilla remained in the bottom half of the table after a 1-1 draw.
