FIFA World Cup 2026: Neymar announces international retirement after Brazil’s shock exit to Norway
He finished his international career as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer.
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The 34-year-old striker brought the curtain down on his international career after Erling Haaland’s dying goal ended Brazil’s hopes of a sixth World Cup title and Neymar scored an injury-time penalty. This was just a consolation.
According to ESPN UK, Neymar evaluated the end of his journey in the national team and told reporters: “I tried, I tried. It’s all over now. I started here; I finished here.”
The penalty converted by Neymar in the 10th minute of the added time after Leo Ostigard was penalized for a foul on Casemiro was his first goal in the tournament. This also further extended his record as the country’s all-time leading scorer, with 80 goals and 59 assists internationally in 130 appearances for Brazil.
His retirement brings an end to one of Brazilian football’s most illustrious international careers. During his tenure with the Selecao, Neymar helped the country lift the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and won Olympic gold on home soil at the Rio 2016 Games.
The veteran striker’s participation in the World Cup remained uncertain until the final stages of squad selection due to fitness concerns. However, head coach Carlo Ancelotti included him in Brazil’s 26-man squad, hoping his experience would inspire another strong run in the tournament. Instead, Brazil’s campaign ended in dramatic fashion. Coming into the knockout stages with increasing confidence, Norway absorbed sustained pressure from Brazil before Haaland broke the deadlock with a towering header from Andreas Schjelderup’s cross in the 79th minute.
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The Manchester City striker then sealed a famous victory, calmly scoring his second goal of the night to put Norway 2-0 ahead and move level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot with seven goals.
Neymar reduced the deficit from the penalty spot until extra time, but Brazil were unable to mount a comeback as Norway secured a historic World Cup quarter-final berth for the first time in their history.
For Brazil, the defeat was their seventh consecutive World Cup knockout defeat against a European team and their earliest World Cup exit since 1990; Neymar’s emotional farewell closed the page on an era that had defined Brazilian football for more than a decade.
