The Santos forward made the comments during a candid conversation with teammates, shared on YouTube, where he described the mood at the team hotel after the match as something close to grief.
"I thought I was going to die," Neymar said. "We went to the hotel after the match and it felt like the world had ended. Everyone walked past you looking serious, pulling a face."
He went further, describing the scene in vivid detail. "I saw what my funeral would be like. I was in a small room, sitting there, and they were arriving. My family arrived, and more people kept coming. Everyone had red eyes, not saying a word. It felt like I was inside a coffin."
The defeat was particularly painful for the 34-year-old, who had scored in extra time to put Brazil ahead 1-0, only to watch Croatia pull level and then win 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Brazil missed two of their first four spot kicks.
Neymar had been waiting to take the fifth penalty, one that never came. "In my life, I've always taken the fifth penalty," he said. "The fifth is the hardest, but it might not come."
It was his third World Cup and he left without a major international title.
Neymar has not featured for Brazil since October 2023, when he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee. He is hoping to return and make the squad for the 2026 World Cup. Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, he will be looking to help end a drought that stretches back to 2002, the last time the five-time champions lifted the trophy.
0 Comments