The Big Lead

Brazil legend gives terrible take on the team heading into the 2026 World Cup

The South American nation hasn't hoisted the World Cup since 2002.

By Matt Reed

Sep 10, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brazil forward Neymar (10) smiles on the bench prior to the South American Showdown soccer match against Peru at Los Angeles Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images
Sep 10, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brazil forward Neymar (10) smiles on the bench prior to the South American Showdown soccer match against Peru at Los Angeles Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images / Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images
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Brazil has been arguably the most fortunate nation in men's soccer history, between constantly producing elite-level talents and lifting a record five World Cup trophies. However, the South American country has now gone over two decades without a World Cup title on the men's side, and they haven't been particularly close.

This of course is in spite of the team still boasting tons of top-level players, most notably attacking superstar Neymar. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward was once billed as the second coming of Pele, and while his talent on the field has been immense at times he hasn't been able to do something his predecessor did; which was win the World Cup.

Another legend of Brazilian soccer, Romario, was recently asked about Brazil's chances of finally winning this elusive title in the Neymar era, and he had some interesting comments about the state of their national team.

"With Neymar in the next World Cup, Brazil will have difficulty winning," Romário said in an interview with ESPN Brasil. "Without Neymar, it will be impossible to win. There are good players [in the squad], who play their brilliant role in their clubs, but unfortunately, in the national team they were unable to demonstrate that."

While the sentiment makes sense considering Neymar's talent over the years, he's simply not the same player he once was when he was winning titles at Barcelona alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar is coming off of a calendar year where he only played two games for his club team Al-Hilal and totaled a whopping 42 minutes on the pitch. Now, he's been linked with moves away from Saudi Arabia, even a potential move to Major League Soccer, but he hasn't proven he can stay on the field recently.

Neymar and Brazil play against El Salvador in a soccer friendly in Maryland
Sep 11, 2018; Landover, MD, USA; Brazil forward Neymar (10) dribbles the ball past El Salvador midfielder Arturo lvarez (12) during an international friendly soccer match at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Not to mention the fact that in Neymar's almost 15 years representing the Brazil national team, his only signifcant championship was winning the 2019 Copa America. In fact, the South American nation hasn't come close to winning the World Cup at all in the Neymar era.

Their best finish came on home soil in 2014 when Brazil hosted the World Cup, but that still only resulted in fourth place. The two most recent World Cups that Neymar and Co. competed in saw the Brazilians knocked out before the semifinals.

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Romario was a World Cup winner in his own right as part of the Brazil team that won in the United States back in 1994, so he himself should recognize the importance of having more than one player carrying the weight of the country towards a trophy.

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