Neymar’s time with the Brazil national team is over.
The 34-year-old forward announced his international retirement after Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Norway in the World Cup last 16, bringing an emotional end to one of the most high-profile Seleção careers of the modern era.
It was not the farewell he wanted.
Neymar came off the bench, scored Brazil’s late penalty and then watched as the five-time world champions were eliminated far earlier than expected. After the final whistle, he was left in tears on the pitch.
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According to Cadena SER, Neymar said: “I tried, I tried. I started here, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and I finish here. Now it is over.”
Norway end Neymar’s final dream
Brazil’s defeat was one of the biggest shocks of the tournament.
According to The Guardian, Erling Haaland scored twice late on to give Norway a 2-1 win and send them into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
Neymar’s stoppage-time penalty reduced the deficit, but it did not change the outcome.
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Brazil were out, and Neymar’s World Cup story had ended without the one trophy he had spent years chasing.
The defeat also marked Brazil’s earliest World Cup exit since 1990, adding further weight to an already painful night for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Ibrahimovic pays tribute
While Brazil were left to deal with another World Cup failure, Zlatan Ibrahimovic chose to focus on Neymar’s wider legacy.
The former Sweden international, working as a pundit for Fox Sports, praised the Brazilian for the quality and entertainment he brought to the game.
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Quoted by The Times of India, Ibrahimovic said: “He will be remembered as the great footballer that came over to Europe, and before he came over to Europe, he was doing his thing in Brazil.”
He added: “When he was at Barcelona, he did good. When he was at PSG, he did good.”
Ibrahimovic also pointed to the feeling that Neymar’s career carried huge expectations.
“But I think people will say also that he could’ve done more than he did because people wanted him to win the Ballon d’Or and he didn’t win,” he said.
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Then came the clearest tribute.
“But an amazing talent, an amazing player and the skill set he had was just crazy. So, sad moment for Brazilian football.”
A career full of brilliance and frustration
Neymar leaves Brazil as the country’s all-time leading scorer.
According to Cadena SER, he finishes with 80 goals in 130 appearances for the national team. He also became, alongside Pelé, one of only two Brazilians to score at four different World Cups.
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Those numbers are extraordinary.
But his international career will always be viewed through two lenses. On one side, he was the face of Brazil for more than a decade, a player capable of deciding matches with one touch, one dribble or one free-kick.
On the other, the World Cup always escaped him.
In 2014, his tournament ended with injury before Brazil’s humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany. In 2018 and 2022, Brazil again fell short. In 2026, he returned after a long absence from the national team, but played only a limited role before the defeat to Norway.
Henry also says thank you
Ibrahimovic was not the only major name to praise Neymar.
Thierry Henry, also working for Fox Sports, spoke about the joy Neymar gave to supporters and younger players.
Quoted by The Times of India, Henry said: “Thank you. This is a guy I would’ve paid to watch. Simple as that.”
He added: “Anyone young wanted to be Neymar. You wanted to be Neymar. This guy changed the game with the way he was playing it.”
For Henry, the point was not to reduce Neymar’s career to the disappointment of one final World Cup.
He wanted to remember the player who made football feel expressive, unpredictable and fun.
The end of Brazil’s number 10 era
Neymar’s final years with Brazil were shaped by injuries, doubts and questions about whether his body would allow him to return for one last tournament.
He did make it back.
But the fairytale ending never came.
According to Olympics.com, one of Neymar’s greatest international moments came at Rio 2016, when he scored the decisive penalty as Brazil won their first Olympic football gold medal.
He also won the Confederations Cup in 2013 and carried Brazil through several eras of change.
Still, the missing World Cup will remain part of the discussion around him.
That is the contradiction of Neymar’s Brazil career. He was historic, beloved, criticised, dazzling and incomplete all at once.
Ibrahimovic called it a sad moment for Brazilian football.
For Brazil, it is more than that.
It is the end of a number 10 era.
