Brazil are set to begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Morocco on Saturday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. However, the Seleção will be without their all-time leading goal scorer, Neymar Jr., for the highly anticipated Group Stage clash.
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What happened to Neymar Jr?
The 34-year-old sustained a grade 2 strain in his right calf on May 17, 2026, during a domestic league match for Santos against Coritiba.
While Santos initially described the issue as minor swelling, further assessment by Brazil’s medical team revealed a partial muscle tear.
An MRI scan conducted shortly after Neymar joined the national team camp confirmed the extent of the injury, ruling him out for an estimated two to three weeks.
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Saturday that the 34-year-old forward will miss the team’s opening World Cup fixture against Morocco.
Speaking about Neymar’s recovery, Ancelotti said, as quoted by FotMob, “He’s working hard to get fit as quickly as possible. We hope he can return to full training next week.”
Brazil will face Haiti on June 19 before concluding their group-stage campaign against Scotland on June 24. Ancelotti remains optimistic that Neymar could be available for both matches.
The Italian manager also backed his side’s chances of making a deep run in the tournament, insisting Brazil possess the quality and experience to compete with any nation.
“This is a team which can compete with anyone,” Carlo Ancelotti said.
“We can face up to any team. We have technical quality and experience, and we are absolutely confident we can face up to any team. We have a good feeling about this World Cup. We’re ready and prepared. At this point, there is no clear favourite for the World Cup. Several teams will have the opportunity to compete all the way to the end.”
Possible lineups for Brazil and Morocco
Brazil
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Defenders: Douglas Santos, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Ibanez
Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes, Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta
Forwards: Vinicius Junior, Igor Thiago, Raphinha
Morocco
Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou
Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui, Chadi Riad, Issa Diop, Achraf Hakimi
Midfielders: Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui, Azzedine Ounahi
Forwards: Bilal El Khannouss, Ismael Saibari, Brahim Diaz
