Why Neymar Is Not Playing In Brazil vs Haiti FIFA World Cup 2026 Match - Explained
For the second straight match at the FIFA World Cup 2026, Neymar is missing from action. After the Morocco match, he is also not playing against Haiti
- Neymar has been ruled out of Brazil's second World Cup 2026 match against Haiti due to a calf injury
- He is in New Jersey to optimize his recovery and did not travel with the team to Philadelphia
- Neymar resumed partial training on Tuesday and Wednesday but has not joined full team sessions
For the second straight match at the FIFA World Cup 2026, Neymar is missing from action. After the Morocco match, he is also not playing against Haiti. Neymar has been ruled out of Brazil's second World Cup match because of a lingering calf injury. The Brazilian football confederation said on Thursday that Neymar wasn't going to travel with the rest of the squad for Friday's match against Haiti in Philadelphia. "He will remain in New Jersey to optimize the final phase of his recovery process," the confederation said in a statement.
The Brazilian confederation said the 34-year-old Santos player will continue his recovery at the facilities of the team's hotel.
Neymar was back on the training field for the first time on Tuesday, doing physical conditioning exercises. He rejoined his teammates for parts of the session on Wednesday and was applauded by them after getting on the field.
Neymar has yet to train in full sessions with the rest of the team since reporting to Brazil's squad while nursing an injured right leg.
Looking to play in his fourth World Cup, Neymar underwent tests on his right calf on Monday to determine the progress of the injury that he sustained while playing with Santos on May 17.
The five-time World Cup champions began their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday in Group C.
There was widespread debate in Brazil over whether Neymar, whose first World Cup was on home soil in 2014, should have been called up for the tournament by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Brazil is chalking out a plan internally to prepare Neymar towards full fitness for the knockout stages, and he could miss all the group stage games till the match against Scotland in Miami, scheduled for June 24. To maintain such a plan for their star player, the results on the pitch would also play an important role, and a dip in performance could see them change.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti wants Neymar to be available, but does not want to compromise on the player's health, recently saying, as quoted by Goal.com, "Neymar is working very hard to recover as quickly as possible. When we called up Neymar, we did it not just because of his technical quality, which is undeniable. But also because of his experience, he could represent an example for the younger players on the team."
With AP and ANI inputs
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