Neymar walked off the field with teammate Dani Alves by his side, tears still rolling down the Brazil forward’s cheeks. (More Football News)
Other players had already tried to console Neymar as he cried while sitting near midfield, headౠ down, hiding his face.
Ther꧙e wasn’t much they could say to get the team’s biggest st𒆙ar to lift his head up.
Again there was disappointment instead of j🎐oy at the end of a World Cup for Neymar. Again he couldn’t lead Brazil to a 🌱major title.
It was his third failure at a World Cup, and his only triumphs w♏ith the national team are the 2013 Confederations ꦜCup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when Brazil won its first gold medal in soccer.
Nꦐeymar said it wasn’t the time to talk about his future with the national team.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s hard to talk about it right now,” he sඣaid. “It would be too hasty to come here and say that this is it, but I can’t guarantee anything. I have to take some time to think about it. I’m not closing any doors to the Seleção, but I’m also not saying 100% that I want to be back.”
Neymar scored Friday to move level with Pelé as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals, but the Seleção end⛄ed up losing to Croatia 4-2 in a penalty shootout🍌 in the quarterfinals after the match finished 1-1 after extra time.
Neymar never had a chance to take a penalty afte🅰r Rodrygo and Marquinhos missed their s𝓀pot kicks.
“He would have taken the fifth penalty,” Brazil coach Tite said. “That’s the one with the m𒊎ost pressure, and he would be the player with the most quality and mental preparedness to take the shot.”
Neymar scored his goal in extra time with a right-footed shot after getting through the defense and dribbling past the Croatia goalkeeper to match Pelé’s record. He entered the tournament two goals shy of the milestone, and scored his 76th in the round oꦐf 16 against South Korea after returning from an ankle injury.
The 82-year-old Pelé showed his support to Neymar from his hospital bed in Brazil, where he was improving while being treated for a respiratory infection that was aggravated by𒉰 COVID-19.
“I saw you grow, I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil. We both know that this is more than a figure,” he wrote on Instagram. “Our biggest dut🦋y as athletes is to inspire. Inspir♔e our teammates of today, the next generations and, above all, everyone who loves our sport.
“Unfortunately, this is not the happiest day for us,” Pelé added. “Mꦉy𒈔 record was set almost 50 years ago, and nobody had managed to get near it until now. You got there, kid. That shows how great your achievement is.”
Brazil was close to returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2014, but instead Neymar looked in anguish from midfield as 🤪Croatia substitute Bruno Petkovic equalized in the 117th minute.
Neymar 𝓡also didn’t play in the last four of the tournament that Brazil hosted eight years ago. He suffered a serious back injury in the quarterfinals against Colombia and then saw his teammates lose 7-1 to Ger🅷many.
The 3🍒0-year-old Neymar scored his 77 goals in 124 matches for Brazil. Pelé’s goals came in 92 appearances with the national team between 1957 an𝔍d 1971.
Ronaldo, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, is t⛎hird on the list with 62 goals in 98 matches.
Pelé won three World Cups, including when he was 17 years old in the 1958 tournament. He also helped Brazil win the Wor🤪ld Cup in 1962 and 1970.
Neymar first played for Brazil as an 18-year🍰-old in 2010. He ꦚis the only other Brazil player other than Pelé and Ronaldo to score in three different World Cups.
Neymar damaged ligaments in his ankle in Brazil’s opening win against Serbia, and his participation in 🔯the rest of the tournament was in doubt because of the injury. He made it back to the starting lineup after missing two group games, and play🦹ed about 80 minutes in Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea on Monday.
The forward has had right ankle problems in the past, being among a series of injuries since the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Anot🐭her right ankle sprain forced him to miss the 2019 Copa América, which Brazil won.
