Mathieu Warnier, Media365 : published on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 11:20 am
Excluded by Carlo Ancelotti from the two matches of Brazil organized in the United States, Neymar saw Marquinhos express his support by believing in the presence of his former teammate at PSG in the list for the upcoming World Cup.
He will be one of the big absentees this Thursday against the Blues. For the American tour of the Seleção, which will also include a match against Croatia next weekend, Carlo Ancelotti decided to do without the services of Neymar. A decision that the Italian technician justified by the fact that the Santos player “does not play at 100% of his abilities” even though he “handles the ball very well.” An absence from the list that could foreshadow the same scenario in a few weeks when the Brazilian coach will have to make his choices for the World Cup, where the Seleção will face Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland in the group stage.
Marquinhos: “He really wants to come back in shape.”
However, in an interview with UOL Esporte, Marquinhos is going against the grain. “I sincerely believe it will work out,” confided the PSG captain about his former teammate at the capital club. He really wants to come back in shape.” The Brazilian defender added that all the players in the Brazilian selection want “him to participate in this World Cup,” which would be his fourth and final in his career. For Marquinhos, Neymar’s presence in the list could be a weighty asset in the quest for a sixth world champion star. “For us defenders, it’s horrible to face him,” he asserts.
Marquinhos praises Neymar’s creativity
“When you close on the right, he goes to the left. You close on the left, he goes to the right,” he added in this interview. “When you think it’s impossible for him to get out, he invents a move, a dance step, and manages to escape.” Recalling the training sessions held alongside the native of Mogi das Cruzes, Marquinhos assures that “every day, he created something he had never done before, he impressed us.” A top-form Neymar could change the game for a Brazilian selection that no longer really intimidates its opponents, finishing fifth in the South American qualifiers for this World Cup, ten points behind Argentina, the title holder.
