Neymar misses Brazil's opener against Morocco, Ancelotti awaits his return later in the group
Brazil will go into their first match at the 2026 World Cup without Neymar, one of the most recognizable figures of their national team and the top scorer in the history of the selection according to FIFA records. The Santos forward will not be ready for the clash with Morocco on June 13, 2026, at New York New Jersey Stadium, and head coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that his recovery from a calf injury has not yet been completed. According to the report from Ancelotti's press conference, the Brazilian coaching staff expect Neymar could return to group training during the next week, which means his appearance later in the group stage has not yet been ruled out. In Group C, Brazil play Haiti after Morocco on June 19 in Philadelphia, and then Scotland on June 24 in Miami, according to FIFA's competition schedule. Such a schedule gives Ancelotti room for caution, but it also does not remove the pressure from a team that opens the tournament against an opponent with serious international continuity.
Neymar's absence is not only a personnel problem for the first match, but also an important psychological moment for a national team trying to win a sixth world title. FIFA previously announced that Neymar suffered the calf injury in May while playing for Santos and that it was an injury that called into question his readiness for the start of the tournament. Brazil nevertheless included him among the 26 players for the World Cup, and Ancelotti, in explaining the call-up, emphasized not only his technical quality but also the experience he can pass on to younger teammates. That experience will now, at least in the tournament opener, remain off the pitch. For Brazil, that means the first major test of the new phase under Ancelotti will have to be completed without the player who for years was the center of the Brazilian national team's attacking play.
The calf injury changed plans for the start of the tournament
According to FIFA's information, Neymar suffered the injury on May 17 in Santos' defeat to Coritiba, just one day before Ancelotti announced the final World Cup squad. In its report at the time, FIFA stated that the appearance against Morocco had become uncertain because the calf injury required a recovery period and a controlled return to workload. Ahead of the meeting with Morocco, the situation became clearer: according to reports from Ancelotti's conference, Neymar was still not ready for the match and will not be in contention to play in the group opener. Ancelotti said at the same time that the forward is working intensively to return as soon as possible, but that the coaching staff do not want to bring him back into full rhythm before he is physically ready for it. Such an approach is especially important because, with calf injuries, an early return often turns into a new problem, especially at a tournament where matches come in short intervals.
The Brazilians therefore have to find a balance between the need for a result and medical caution. The first match in the group carries great weight because a win immediately eases the path toward the knockout stage, but the expanded format of the 2026 World Cup changes the calculations to some extent. According to FIFA rules, the tournament is being played for the first time with 48 national teams arranged into 12 groups of four teams, and the two best from each group plus the eight best third-placed teams advance to the round of 32. That does not reduce the importance of points, but it gives more room for correction if one match does not develop according to plan. Precisely because of that, Ancelotti can be more cautious with Neymar than he would have been under the old format, although Brazil, because of their own tradition and ambitions, can hardly view any match as less important.
Ancelotti sticks to the decision that Neymar is needed by Brazil
The call-up for Neymar was one of the most closely followed decisions on Brazil's World Cup squad list. The CBF announced that on May 18, 2026, Ancelotti named the 26 players who will represent Brazil in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Neymar was among them despite the calf problem. According to FIFA, he is a player who in September 2023 scored his 78th and 79th goals for Brazil and overtook Pelé in FIFA's statistics of the Brazilian national team's top scorers. That figure gives weight to Ancelotti's assessment that Neymar can be useful even when he is not fully ready for every match from the first minute. Brazil do not see in him only the finishing of attacks, but also a player who understands the pressure of big matches, the World Cup dressing room and the specific weight of the Brazilian public.
Ancelotti's decision also carries risk. If Neymar does not return quickly enough, Brazil will practically keep one part of the squad for a later phase of the competition, while other forwards will have to take on a greater burden in the group. The Guardian noted ahead of the match that Endrick and Igor Thiago are candidates for the role of central striker in Neymar's absence, while Vinicius Junior and Raphinha should carry the largest share of creativity and speed in the final third. In midfield, Ancelotti has players such as Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes at his disposal, while the defence should be stabilized by Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhaes. Such a structure suggests that Brazil are not dependent on only one player, but Neymar's absence still changes the way the opponent prepares the match and the way Brazil can attack a set defence.
Morocco are not an opponent for a routine opener
Opening against Morocco is especially demanding because this is not a formally weaker opponent who should serve Brazil for a calm entry into the tournament. Morocco became the first African national team to reach the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, which The Guardian highlighted as important context ahead of the match in New Jersey. Such a result changed the way the Moroccan national team is viewed: it is no longer a team that favourites can look at only through the prism of individual quality, but a selection that has already proved it can withstand the pressure of knockout matches and play with discipline against the strongest. Brazil therefore do not lose only Neymar in the first match, but also part of their unpredictability against an opponent that knows how to play patiently, compactly and emotionally steadily.
According to FIFA's schedule, the match between Brazil and Morocco will be played at the stadium that will also host the World Cup final on July 19. The location itself additionally strengthens the symbolism of the match: Brazil begin there their attempt to return to the top of world football, and Ancelotti leads his first match on the biggest stage against a team that opened new doors for African football at the previous Mundial. In such a framework, Neymar's absence becomes a story that goes beyond one injury. It affects tactical plans, the hierarchy in attack and public expectations, but at the same time it offers other players the chance to show from the start that Brazil have enough depth for a tournament of 104 matches and 48 national teams.
Brazil rely on attacking depth and dressing-room experience
Ancelotti arrived in Brazil with the reputation of a coach who knows how to manage big dressing rooms and strong individual personalities, and the CBF announced in May 2026 that his contract had been extended until 2030. That shows that the Brazilian federation does not view his work only through one tournament, although the public assessment will inevitably be shaped by the result at the World Cup. Brazil have five world titles, the last from 2002, so the pressure on every new generation is great. The Guardian recalled that since that last title Brazil have gone beyond the quarter-finals only once, which further increased the feeling that a step forward is expected from Ancelotti's team. In that context, the first match with Morocco is not decisive for the entire tournament, but it can strongly influence the atmosphere around the national team.
Without Neymar, Brazil will probably rely more on the speed of the wingers, pressure after losing the ball and greater responsibility from the midfield in carrying attacks forward. Vinicius Junior in such a model can get more freedom in one-on-one play, while Raphinha offers width, movement inside and work without the ball. If Ancelotti chooses Endrick, Brazil would get a younger forward who can attack space and bring energy, while Igor Thiago would offer a different profile in duels and in play with his back to goal. The coach thus has more options, but none carries the same symbolic weight as Neymar's presence. That is precisely why Brazil's performance against Morocco will also be viewed as a test of how ready the national team is to function outside its long-standing dependence on its best-known player.
A return is expected during the next week
The most important message from the Brazilian camp is that Neymar has not been ruled out of the tournament. According to the report from Ancelotti's conference, the expectation is that the 34-year-old forward will rejoin group training next week, provided that his recovery continues at the expected pace. That could theoretically bring him closer to an appearance against Haiti on June 19 or at least the match against Scotland on June 24, but there is currently no official confirmation that he will be ready for those fixtures. Brazil will therefore assess his status daily, and every decision on his return will have to take into account the longer-term goal as well: if the Seleção get through the group, the tournament enters a stage in which one move from an experienced forward can decide a match. In that light, Ancelotti's caution is not a sign of giving up on Neymar, but an attempt to preserve him for the moment in which he could be most useful.
Until then, Brazil must prove they have enough quality even without him. According to The Guardian, Ancelotti said ahead of the tournament that the national team is capable of competing against any team, but also that winning the World Cup is an extremely demanding task. Such a message summarizes Brazil's position well: the quality is unquestionable, the tradition enormous, and the pressure constantly present. Morocco will show already in the first match how solid the new Brazilian structure is when the player around whom the biggest stories have been built for years is absent. Neymar's return remains an important topic, but Brazil's tournament begins before he returns to the pitch.
Sources:
- FIFA – information on Neymar's calf injury and uncertainty around the start of the World Cup (link)
- FIFA – announcement of Brazil's squad and schedule of matches in Group C (link)
- FIFA – rules of the 2026 World Cup format, progression from groups and ranking criteria (link)
- FIFA – data on Neymar's scoring record for the Brazilian national team according to FIFA statistics (link)
- CBF – announcement of Brazil's final squad for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- CBF – information on the extension of Carlo Ancelotti's contract until 2030 (link)
- The Guardian – context of the Brazil – Morocco match, Ancelotti's statements and analysis of the Brazilian squad ahead of the start of the tournament (link)
- Khel Now – report from Ancelotti's conference on Neymar's expected return to training next week (link)