D<\/span>The question of Neymar’s participation in the next World Cup has sparked a debate that continues to grow, but now another voice has joined in his defense.<\/p>\nCompatriot Juninho Vieira has insisted he must take part in soccer’s biggest event after Brazil manager Carlos Ancelotti excluded him from friendlies against Croatia and France on March 26 and 31. <\/p>\n
Vieira defends Neymar<\/h2>\n
Juninho joined Pumas UNAM from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2026 and has already scored four goals in his first eight league games. However, he is convinced that the number 10 must play for Canarinha at the World Cup, even if he himself is not included in the Caretto squad. <\/p>\n
“For me there is no debate: Neymar has to go to the World Cup,” he said in a new interview with TV Azteca Deportes. <\/p>\n
He also emphasized Neymar’s importance to the team, comparing Neymar to two other football legends, explaining: “It’s like Portugal leaving out Cristiano Ronaldo or Argentina leaving out Messi. In the same way, you can’t leave Neymar out of our national team. He always has to be there.”<\/p>\n
Despite Juninho’s words, Neymar has not played for Canarinha since October 17, 2023, and last Monday, the 16th, manager Ancelotti announced that he would not be included in the squad to travel to the United States for two World Cup warm-up friendlies as he was not feeling well, although he did not rule out taking him to the World Cup if he was 100% recovered. <\/p>\n
Ney has played just five games for Santos FC after recovering from left knee surgery, scoring three goals and providing two assists. More recently, he missed the game against Mirasol due to a muscle strain caused by excessive fatigue during training, and although he played in the following two games (against Corinthians and Internacional), he was absent from the match against Cruzeiro to avoid the risk of further serious injury. <\/p>\n
With 16 games left until the World Cup, Neymar needs to not only log minutes on the field, but also recover and get in better shape if he wants to impress Ancelotti and travel to the United States, Mexico and Canada for what could be his final World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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