Qatar 2022 | Will superstar Neymar take Brazil to the promised land?

The comparison with legendary Brazilian players appears justified given Neymar’s club football career, one which has seen him win just about everything with Santos, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

But until he wins the Fifa World Cup, the star will remain in the shadow of his great compatriots, Pele and Ronaldinho, to whom he has often been likened.

Granted, he is, behind Pele, Seleção’s second-highest scorer with 75 goals from 127 matches and was influential in Brazil bagging the 2013 Fifa Confederation Cup on home soil. 

However, debate continues to rage regarding whether he would have made a difference had he not been out injured in the 2014 Fifa World Cup semifinal when Brazil were smashed 7-1 by Germany.

After all, Neymar was prolific in the preceding matches, with the South American giants looking as if they could finally bury the ghost of 1950 by winning the global spectacle in their backyard. 

He scored four goals and another from the shoot-out victory over Chile in the round of 16.

It was largely through his efforts that Brazil qualified for Qatar 2022, Neymar scoring against Peru in both legs and taking his goals in World Cup qualifiers to 12, the most by a Brazilian player.

No doubt Brazil will expect him to play a key role in helping them do better than they did four years ago when they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Belgium.

You can bet he will be itching to win the global showpiece ahead of his South American adversary and club teammate at PSG, Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Beaten to the honour by French teammate Kylian Mbappé, who was victorious with Les Bleus in 2018, Neymar will be driven to put his immense ball skills, trickery, prolific scoring and playmaking abilities to great use for his country's benefit.

He has managed to somewhat shed that negative image of being a "diver" and that has helped raise his profile as one of the world’s best players.

He just needs to lead Seleção to victory in Qatar to cement his standing as a Brazilian great.

Club: Paris Saint-Germaim

Previous Clubs: Barcelona, Santos

Previous World Cup Performance: 2014, 4 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists

2018: 6 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 yellow card

International Honours: Fifa Confederation Cup champion 2013; Summer Olympics champion 2016, runner-up 2012; Copa America runner-up 2021

CLUB HONOURS

• Santos
  • Campeonato Paulista: 2010, 2011, 2012
  • Copa do Brasil: 2010
  • Copa Libertadores: 2011
  • Recopa Sudamericana: 2012
• Barcelona 
  • La Liga: 2014/15, 2015/16
  • Copa del Rey: 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17
  • Suoetcopa de España: 2013
  • Uefa Champions League:  2014/15
  • Fifa Club World Cup: 2015
• Paris Saint-Germain
  • Ligue 1: 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22
  • Coupe de France: 2017/18, 2019/20, 2020/21
  • Coupe de la Ligue: 20117/18, 2019/20
  • Trophée des Champions: 2018, 2020, 2022

Individual honours: World Soccer Young Player of the Year, FIFA Puskas Award, Copa Libertadores Most Valuable Player 2011, South American Footballer of the Year 2011 and 2012, Fifa Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe 2013, Fifa Confederation Cup 2013 Golden Ball, La Liga Best World Player 2014/15, Ligue 1 Player of the Year 2017/18

World Cup Appearances and Goals:  10 and 6