Neymar says he is not 100% ready for Brazil’s debut in the Qualifiers – 09/07/2023 – Sports

Brazilian star Neymar said this Thursday (7) that he is not in full physical condition, but assured that this does not mean that he will be absent from Friday’s clash (8) against Bolivia, in Brazil’s debut in the South Qualifiers. Americans for the 2026 World Cup.

“Obviously I’m not 100% physically, but my head is good, my body is good,” said the number 10 during a press conference in Belém, where the Brazilian team will host the Bolivians at 9:45 pm.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been called up to the national team like this. A few years ago the same thing happened and I played the full 90 minutes. If I’m not mistaken, it was against Colombia, in the United States. There’s no mystery, playing football regardless of As long as you stay still, you’ll always know how to play football. It’s like riding a bicycle”, he added.

The 31-year-old striker did not debut for his new team, Saudi Al-Hilal, where he arrived in mid-August from Paris Saint-Germain. His club’s coach, Portuguese Jorge Jesus, questioned his presence in Brazil as he had suffered a “minor injury”.

“I don’t see the words that Jorge Jesus said as evil, but rather to preserve his player. In the last match I was going to play, but I got hit in training, he himself left me out of the game to come and play with the national team” , he explained.

His last match was on August 3, still for the French team, in a pre-season friendly in South Korea.

Chance to surpass Pelé

If he plays against the Bolivians, as planned, according to what was seen in training, Neymar could surpass the late Pelé as the greatest scorer in the history of the Brazilian team. The two are currently tied with 77 goals.

“Pelé, for everyone here in Brazil, is unanimous that he is the king of football. Imagine you surpassing someone at that.”

Neymar was called up for the games against Bolivia and Peru (Tuesday, in Lima), after being left out, due to injury, of the three friendlies played by the team this year, the first games after the failure in the Qatar Cup-2022, where Brazil was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Croatia.

The number 10 was called up by newcomer Fernando Diniz, who juggles his role as coach of the national team with that of coach of Fluminense. Tite’s replacement until Italian Carlo Ancelotti took over Brazil in mid-2024, Diniz gained fame in South America for the Rio team’s “apositional” football.

“Diniz does a job completely different from anything I’ve ever seen. It’s a different type of football, he has a very different mentality from the coaches I’ve had. The other coaches I’ve had did almost the same things. Diniz doesn’t, he likes to reinvent football, to give you options. He’s a very interesting guy,” he said.

Renovation

The star stated that Brazil is heading towards renewal, with several World Cup players and other young players, and said that their performance on the field will not change much with the new coach.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, that we’re going to come out playing very well, the way Diniz wants. He has to have a little patience so that this work can bear fruit,” said the player.

Asked about the level of the million-dollar league in Saudi Arabia, which has attracted attention with the recent signings of renowned players, Neymar compared it to the French championship, which he played for PSG between 2017 and 2023.

“Based on the names that went into the Saudi league today, look… I don’t know if it’s not better than the French league,” he said, with a smile. “Many people think that’s what the championship is, it’s not known, it’s weak, everyone talked about that when I went to the French championship, and it was the place where I got hit the most in my life.”