Neymar Pulled Off in Costly Blunder During Crucial Bid to Win Over Ancelotti Ahead of World Cup

Neymar's final appearance before finding out his World Cup destiny was a strange and emotionally turbulent one, culminating in the Brazilian star storming off the pitch in fury.

The 34-year-old Brazilian icon will find out on Monday whether he has been selected to feature for his country at this summer's global tournament. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti included him in a preliminary 55-man squad last week, but breaking into the final 26-man selection will be considerably more difficult.

Neymar has not featured for the historic Seleção since October 2023, having been hampered by injuries and fitness issues in the years since, and was most recently left out of the March international window. An ACL injury in 2023 effectively ended his consistent international involvement, and he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last December, sidelining him for Santos' opening 12 games of the current season.

Despite this, Neymar has been building a strong case for World Cup inclusion. He has regained his fitness following his latest setback, featuring regularly for Santos FC since returning to action in February. The former FC Barcelona attacker is also Brazil's all-time top scorer with 79 goals across 128 appearances, having overtaken Pelé back in 2023, and has been a standout performer at the last three World Cup tournaments.

Neymar's final outing in Santos' Série A fixture on Sunday did little to impress Ancelotti—his boyhood club fell 3–0 to Coritiba—but it certainly caught the manager's attention, purely because of the chaotic circumstances surrounding it.

Neymar Wrongly Substituted

Before kick-off, Neymar was visibly emotional, seen weeping and wiping tears during the Brazilian national anthem, possibly reflecting his well-documented desire to represent his nation next month and the pressure of fighting for a place in the squad.

The captain started the game up front but struggled to make an offensive impact, managing just one shot on target and creating only two chances throughout his time on the field.

Matters took a dramatic turn when he was mistakenly substituted off in the 65th minute, following an apparent blunder by the fourth official, who erroneously displayed Neymar's number on the substitution board. The change was originally intended for No. 31, Santos defender Gonzalo Escobar.

Neymar was near the touchline having treatment sprayed on his calf when the referee informed him he needed to leave the pitch for Robinho Junior, catching the star completely off guard.

"I knew Robinho was coming on, but I wasn't even looking [at the board]," Neymar said after the match. "I had no idea I'd been substituted — I hadn't seen the board. It was a very serious error by the officials, by the person who puts the numbers up."

Santos manager Cuca and Neymar both alerted center referee Paulo Zanovelli to the significant mistake; however, since the substitution had already been signaled and Robinho had entered the field, it was deemed official.

A clearly furious Neymar remonstrated with the referee for several minutes, ultimately receiving a yellow card for refusing to accept the substitution. He then marched off the pitch, grabbed the official substitution request form, and held it up to the cameras as proof of the mistake.

Having been denied his final 25 minutes to make an impression on Ancelotti, Neymar will be hoping that his performances over the past few months have been enough to secure him a place in North America this summer.