Neymar knows Qatar well. Since the football artist joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for €222m, he has regularly attended training camps with the French in the tiny emirate. It seems like the ideal place for the non-indisputable Brazilian to secure a place in his country’s football annals, as leader of the team destined to take home a sixth World Cup.
Often criticized for not always having a perfect working attitude, Neymar received a warning on Tuesday about how unexpectedly a false start can happen at the World Cup. The Argentines, along with friend and teammate Lionel Messi, have stumbled upon Saudi Arabia despite a strong track record in recent months. Serbia are an even bigger challenge on paper on Thursday.
However, there is no reason to fear that Neymar will take the start of the World Cup lightly. The pressure from home is too great for that, with crowds of journalists eyeing every training session at Doha’s Grand Hamad Stadium with eagle eyes. His preparation in recent months with Paris Saint-Germain has been too convincing for this, with 11 goals and 9 assists in 14 games in the French league.
A less than successful era
Neymar is the undisputed leader of the Brazilian national team. Coach Tite built his team around exceptional talent. It’s an honor and a pressure to be successful at the same time. “Ever since he joined the national team, the burden has been on his shoulders. You can’t change it with his skills. But he can do it,” said defender Marquinhos, who plays like Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilians enter the tournament as big favourites, but also as a football nation that has been waiting for the next world title for 20 years – a small eternity for the South Americans. The years under Neymar were not very successful in terms of team status, with titles at the 2013 Confederations Cup and victory at the 2016 Olympic Games on home soil in Rio de Janeiro.
There are two successes that cannot compensate for the biggest misfortune in the history of the Brazilian World Cup. Brazil is still recovering from their 7-1 defeat by Germany in the 2014 semi-final. And rehabilitation means nothing more than winning the title. If successful, Neymar would also have to match Pelé’s 77 goals in the national shirt.
Neymar for the difference
While Brazil have fallen short of expectations in major tournaments in recent years, there is no mistaking Neymar. “With a fit Neymar, we have a very good chance of winning the World Cup,” said Cafu, a former 2002 world and international champion. “He is a player who really makes the difference”.
Neymar is great in so many ways. He polarizes with the way he takes fouls, how he provokes his opponents, but also with his parties and more recently with his political statements. Some of the local fans resented her defending far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election. You wanted to dedicate your first World Cup goal to Bolsonaro.
The past should be forgotten on Thursday evening at the latest, when the match against Serbia gets underway in Lusail’s bottom stadium. Because Brazil can only get the sixth star with a strong Neymar.
