Carlo Ancelotti didn’t come to his press conference in Teresópolis to say sorry. And he made that abundantly clear within seconds.
Asked whether he would have still selected Neymar had he known the true extent of the forward’s calf injury, the Brazil coach didn’t reach for diplomatic language or managerial spin. He reached for an Italian proverb.
“If my grandad had wheels, he’d be a car,” Ancelotti said, deadpan. “Since I decided on the squad, Neymar was in the 26.”
And that, apparently, is that
The Backstory: A Long Road to This Moment
To appreciate just how loaded this selection is, you have to rewind. Neymar has not played for Brazil since October 2023, when he tore his ACL in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. What followed was nearly three years of injury, uncertainty, and quiet desperation — with Ancelotti consistently and firmly leaving him out of every call-up, insisting that only a fully fit Neymar would earn a ticket to North America.
“We don’t need to evaluate Neymar, we all know who he is and what he is capable of. We need him in peak condition,” Ancelotti had said back in early 2026.
Month after month, the door stayed shut. Brazil legend Ronaldo publicly pleaded for his inclusion, saying “we don’t have another player like Neymar.” Kylian Mbappé weighed in, saying he couldn’t “imagine a World Cup without Ney.” Even Joao Pedro — Chelsea’s own striker who would eventually lose his World Cup spot to Neymar — publicly stated that the Santos star “represents what Messi is to Argentina” for Brazil.
And then, finally, after all of it — the ACL, the calf strains, the Santos return, the tears — Ancelotti called his name on May 18. Neymar broke down completely. He watched the squad announcement live, covered his eyes and wept. He later revealed he “went to sleep at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, watching all the videos. I couldn’t stop crying all night.”
It was one of sport’s most emotional scenes of the year. Brazil lost their minds. Then, nine days later, so did everyone else — for a different reason.
The Injury That Broke the Party
On May 17 — one day before Ancelotti announced the squad — Neymar suffered a calf injury playing for Santos against Coritiba. The club initially described it as “swelling,” managing the situation quietly. When Neymar arrived at Brazil’s training base at Granja Comary, their own medical staff ran the tests. The diagnosis came back harder: a Grade 2 muscle strain in his right calf. Recovery timeline: two to three weeks.
He would miss both warm-up friendlies — against Panama on May 31 and Egypt on June 6. His availability for Brazil’s Group C opener against Morocco on June 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was suddenly very much in doubt.
The questions started flying. Did Ancelotti know? Why pick him? Should Joao Pedro — who registered 29 goal contributions in 49 appearances for Chelsea this season — be brought in as a replacement?
Ancelotti had answers for all of it.
“These 26 Will Play the World Cup”
The Brazilian Football Confederation had received a medical report from Santos before the announcement, Ancelotti explained. The report described the issue as minor swelling, and they allowed Santos to manage it until May 27. When Brazil’s doctors got their hands on the player, the fuller picture emerged.
But here’s the thing: Ancelotti doesn’t care.
“To be clear, Neymar will be with us,” he said. “We believe he can recover in time for the first match against Morocco — and if not, then for the second one against Haiti. We have no doubt that these 26 players will play in the World Cup.”
No replacements. No regrets. No wheels on any grandads.
The faith is striking, and deliberately so. Ancelotti has always said Neymar’s role in this squad goes beyond goals — as a dressing room leader, an experience anchor for a young team, and the emotional heartbeat of the Seleção. With Estêvão and Rodrygo already ruled out through injury, that emotional and tactical weight matters even more.
Brazil’s sixth star has been waiting since 2002. The man Ancelotti believes can help them find it is currently in a recovery pool in Teresópolis, working to be ready for June 13.
No regrets. Just belief.
