Brasil debuta sin Neymar, Ancelotti espera su regreso la próxima semana

Neymar’s absence turned Brazil’s World Cup debut into something larger than a first match. Carlo Ancelotti opened against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey without the 34-year-old forward, who was ruled out by a calf injury, while the coach said his recovery is progressing well and that he could return to training next week. For a nation that has long packaged itself around singular brilliance, the opening scene in New Jersey looked more like a test of structure than spectacle.

Ancelotti had already announced Brazil’s 26-man squad on May 18 at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, and Neymar was on that list. That detail matters because it underlines how quickly the narrative shifted from selection to survival. Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, was set to make a fourth World Cup appearance after previous tournaments in 2014, 2018 and 2022, but he had not played for the national team since October 17, 2023. His absence from the opener sharpened the question hovering over this tournament: is Brazil finally ready to be organized around depth and system rather than one defining personality?

In the days before the match, Brazil trained in Morristown without Neymar, and Ancelotti gave no clear hint about his starting lineup. That secrecy is part tactical caution, part message. With players such as Marquinhos, Vinicius Jr., Raphinha, Alisson, Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães in the group, Brazil has enough established talent to avoid leaning on a single attacking reference point. The challenge is not talent scarcity. It is whether Ancelotti can turn that talent into a coherent team identity under tournament pressure.

Brazil enters Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland, and the schedule leaves little room for drift. After the opener in New Jersey, Brazil is set to face Haiti on June 19 in Philadelphia and Scotland on June 24 in Miami. The backdrop is stark: Brazil has not won the World Cup since 2002, a 24-year drought by the standards of the sport’s most successful national team. With five titles, from 1958 through 2002, Brazil remains the benchmark. Without Neymar at the start, Ancelotti’s first test is whether the benchmark can now be defended by a collective rather than carried by a single name.