World Cup qualifiers: Will Brazil’s talisman Neymar start against Colombia, Argentina?

Brazil recalled their talisman Neymar after more than a year, for the World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.

The 33-year-old former captain was away from the game because of an ACL injury in October 2023 during Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.

He returned to action in January with Santos, his boyhood club, on a six-month deal following the termination of his contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal by mutual agreement.

At Santos, he has scored three goals and provided three assists in seven matches so far, which made Brazil coach Dorival Junior include him in the national squad.

Junior is, however, non-committal on Neymar's chances to make the final XI. "He played two matches at Santos for 90 minutes. He has also been spared in the last minutes of some matches. Let's see how he performs in the run up to our matches," the head coach said.

Neymar has played 128 matches for Brazil and scored a record 79 goals, surpassing Pele's tally of 77. He led his country to a gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and also helped Brazil finish runners-up at the 2021 Copa America.

Brazil, who are fifth in the CONMEBOL – South American qualifying table – with 18 points from 12 games, will play Colombia on March 21 and take on Argentina on March 26. The top six qualify directly for the World Cup.

Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Al-Nassr), Ederson (Manchester City).

Defenders:

Vanderson (Monaco), Wesley, Leo Ortiz, Danilo (all Flamengo), Gabriel Magalhes (Arsenal), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Murillo (Nottingham Forest), Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro).

Midfielders:

Andre (Wolverhampton), Bruno Guimares (Newcastle), Gerson (Flamengo), Joelinton (Newcastle), Neymar (Santos).

Forwards:

Estevao (Palmeiras), Joao Pedro (Brighton), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior (all Real Madrid), Savinho (Manchester City), Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton).