Ancelotti: If Neymar is in good health, there will be no problem in joining the national team

Hupu September 13th Brazilian national team coach Carlo Ancelotti said in a long interview with ESPN Brazil channel that Neymar can become an important member of the Brazilian team in next year's World Cup, but he first needs to prove that he is in a good physical condition and revealed that the two had communicated face to face before the match against Paraguay. In addition, he also talked about his own contract renewal.

As the best scorer in Brazil's current history, Neymar has never played for the national team since his left knee ACL and meniscus torn in October 2023. The 33-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain striker is remembered for his unique football style and offensive talent. But Neymar has been plagued by injuries since returning to childhood club Santos in January, so he missed all the squads since Ancelotti coached Brazil.

Earlier, Neymar raised objections to the claim that Ancelotti was excluded from the roster of the World Cup qualifiers in September due to his physical condition. He said that he "wasted because of technical reasons and has nothing to do with my physical condition. This is the opinion of the head coach, and I respect it." However, Ancelotti said in an interview that it was his physical condition that decided whether Neymar could enter the Brazilian roster, not his football talent.

"We obviously don't want to observe how Neymar plays. Everyone knows his talent and his ability," Ancelotti told ESPN Brazil reporter Ivo Almeida: "In modern football, if a player wants to play his talent, the player must be in good physical condition. If Neymar is in the best physical condition, he will be in a national team. Each of us hopes that Neymar can enter the national team when he is in good physical condition. I talked to him and I said, 'I still have some distance from the 2026 World Cup, and you still have time to prepare in the best way, participate in the World Cup and help the team on the court.'"

Neymar has played attacking positions on the wing and middle, but Ancelotti said he believes that the player currently lacks the physical conditions required as a winger. "I talked to him, he came to the hotel before the game against Paraguay in June, we talked about this issue, everything was clear, my thoughts remain the same. If he was selected for the national team, I would choose him as an attacking midfielder or a shadow striker, he had to be active in the middle, his current physical condition is not suitable for playing on the wing, because modern football needs a winger with both physical fitness and speed, which is very important, but he has no problem playing on the attacking midfielder."

Brazil had secured its qualification for the 2026 World Cup in June, but ended their qualifiers 0-1 loss to Bolivia in the final round, ending up fifth in the South American qualifiers, which was disappointing. Ancelotti, who signed a one-year contract with Brazil in June this year, said he is still eagerly looking forward to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year and is open to staying until the next World Cup cycle.

"Preparing for Brazil for the World Cup is a special thing. I signed a one-year contract, and everything is possible after the World Cup. I believe it was right to sign a one-year contract at that time. If the Brazilian Football Association wants to continue working, I have no problem. There is no problem. As I said, I am very happy here and my family is very happy. We can think about it. We have time to talk about this, I don't mind staying, it will be great to stay until 2030."