Brazil legend and 2002 FIFA World Cup winner Kaka has explained the importance Neymar Jr will have in the national team at the World Cup. The Santos ace was a surprise inclusion in the Selecao squad for the Mundial after a strong start to the season with his club.
The former midfielder was a guest on Rio Ferdinand’s Rio Meets Podcast, and shared his thoughts on the inclusion of the former Barcelona man in the squad. He explained that the 34-year-old is a great teammate to have, and will also mentor the younger players in the squad. He also spoke highly about the quality of the forward when fit.
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“I love Neymar. We played together in the national team, we are friends. If he’s ready, if he’s in a good shape, physical condition is good, I think he’ll be very, very important for Brazil. He’s always supporting the team, he tries to help the young guys and he’s a very good teammate, so he understood his position now, it’s really different from before and now he’s much more mature. Sometimes, you just want to see those guys having fun on the field”, he said.
Neymar has not played for Brazil since injuring his ACL and meniscus in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 2023. The experienced forward picked up a calf muscle injury just before the World Cup squad was announced but went along to the tournament, still. He is in a race to be fit to feature for the Selecao in their group stage campaign.
Kaka played with the former Paris Saint-Germain man at the start of his international career in the early 2010s. He believes that the Santos forward can play an important role for Carlo Ancelotti‘s side in their pursuit of a sixth World Cup crown.
Neymar unavailable for Brazil in FIFA World Cup opener
Neymar is set to miss out for Brazil when they kick off their FIFA World Cup campaign against Morocco. The Selecao will compete in Groups C against the African champions, Haiti, and Scotland.
Neymar suffered an injury in Santos’ 3-0 defeat to Coritiba on April 17, and was ruled out of action for 2-3 weeks. The forward has yet to return to team training, and will not play against Morocco.
Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti threw his weight behind the forward when asked if he would be dropped due to his injury. The Italian tactician will now hope to have him back for the other group stage matches.
Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen