He’ll get few better chances than this. After the premature, Last 16 exits of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at Russia 2018 the previous weekend, Brazilian forward Neymar had on a plate a golden opportunity to seize the crown and finally stake his claim as the world’s current best footballer.
Yet after the Seleção’s 2-1 tumble at the hands of Belgium on Friday, in which a lacklustre performance demonstrated an incapacity to carry an important match on his back and saw him outshone by future Ballon d’Or rival Eden Hazard, this sport’s most expensive player is seemingly back at square one.
Despite taking four months out to prepare, and able to return to action from injury for PSG much sooner, the 26-year-old wasn’t even the best player on the Brazil national team throughout the tournament and instead saw the spotlight thrust upon unassuming close friend Philippe Coutinho. Rather, he became a figure of global ridicule for his theatrics and a willingness to go to ground at the first possible opportunity.
That’s not to say there wasn’t some progress, though. Ineffective in his side’s opening Group E 1-1 draw with Switzerland, Neymar evolved with a late goal in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Costa Rica and was just as important against Serbia, who were overcome by the same scoreline thanks to successful efforts from Paulinho and Thiago Silva. In Brazil’s second round showdown with Mexico, Neymar, refusing to rise to the goading of Andres Guardado, put in his best performance yet as Tite’s men were for a third time two goals better than the opposition put in front of them.
But then came Belgium. As alluded to, owing to Ballon d’Or rulers Messi and Ronaldo being sent home early, it was predicted that a new king would rise and Neymar was given a second chance to reach the upper echelons of the football despite having failed to lead his Parisian employers to the coveted Champions League title their Qatari owners remain so desperate to clinch.
It couldn’t have gone worse, however. Simple passes failed, attempts on goal landed in the outstanding Thibaut Courtois’ hands with ease and the former Santos man was powerless in helping his countrymen revert a 2-0 scoreline going into halftime or find an all-important equaliser once Renato Augusto had pulled one back near the death.
With Brazil’s elimination, one could argue that Neymar is further from the prize than he has ever been and that a win for France or Belgium could see the first person other than Messi or Ronaldo lifting the trophy in over a decade in the shape of Ligue 1 teammate Kylian Mbappé, Kevin De Bruyne, or Chelsea’s Hazard – who in light of Real Madrid’s touted sale of Cristiano Ronaldo may also pip him to a move to the Bernabéu.
Aged 30 by the time Qatar 2022 rolls around, Neymar departed Russia with just two goals and an assist and now looks towards continental glory for both his club and country next year at the conclusion of the 2019 Copa America on Brazilian soil and the aforementioned big-eared European trophy won once with Barcelona in 2015 but all the more difficult to bring back to the French capital.
