Neymar Jr. Status for 2026 FIFA World Cup Revealed as Brazil's Roster Announced

Injuries have kept Neymar away from the Brazilian national team since Oct. 2023. That ended on Monday.

Brazilian coach Carlo Ancelotti announced his squad for June's World Cup in North America, with Neymar a notable addition.

Here is the full roster announced for the upcoming World Cup:

Joao Pedro and Thiago Silva are among the notable exclusions on the roster.

"Neymar is much loved," Ancelotti told Reuters (h/t ESPN's Adriana Garcia) last week. "Not just by the fans, but by the players, too. If you call on Neymar, you won't be causing a stir in the dressing room, because he's so well-liked, loved so much."

At the time, Ancelotti suggested he was carefully considering Neymar for the team's roster.

"I think it's normal for everyone to have their say," he said. "I'd like to thank everyone who gave me advice. When you have to choose, you have to consider many things. In this respect, Neymar is an important player for this country, because of the talent he has always shown, and because he had a problem, from which he is recovering. He is working hard to recover, he is playing. He has improved a lot recently and is playing consistently. Obviously, for me, it's not such a simple decision. I have to weigh up the pros and cons carefully. But that doesn't put pressure on me, because, as I said, for a year now we've been assessing not just Neymar, but all the players."

The 34-year-old Neymar has appeared in eight Brasileiro Série A matches for Santos this season, registering four goals and two assists. He's Brazil's all-time leading goal-scorer, with 79 tallies.

He was most recently in the news over the weekend, when referee Paulo Cesar Zanovelli and his crew incorrectly subbed Neymar off the pitch in the second half of a match against Coritiba. The frustrated star—who had been down on the pitch getting treatment on his calf at the time of the substitution, perhaps contributing to the confusion—showed cameras the substitution slip that had Escobar's No. 31 written on it, but officials didn't allow him to stay on the pitch despite the mistake.

Ancelotti's decision to put him on the World Cup roster should help alleviate those frustrations.