Neymar ready to carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders

RIO DE JANEIRO: Fuelled by past disappointments at the World Cup, Neymar has been preparing for a long time to make sure he is in peak condition to lead Brazil into this year’s tournament in Qatar. Now aged 30, the world’s most expensive player has often struggled to live up to expectations and been hampered by injuries since joining Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a record 222 million euros. It is not so long ago that Neymar let slip that Qatar could be his last World Cup as he struggled with the demands of playing football at the highest level.

But his form and his attitude in the first three months of this season bode well going into Brazil’s bid to win a record sixth World Cup crown. After reporting for pre-season training a week earlier than expected, Neymar hit the ground running when the French campaign kicked off and he has scored 15 goals in 19 games so far for PSG, while also providing a hatful of assists for the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. “He is flying.

It is the fruit of all the preparation he has put in,” said national team coach Tite recently of Brazil’s superstar forward. Ready to equal Pele? Close-season talk that PSG were keen to cut their losses and sell Neymar has faded, and he heads to Qatar needing just two goals to draw level with Pele on 77 as Brazil’s all-time top goal-scorer. Eight of Neymar’s 75 goals for his country came during Brazil’s outstanding World Cup qualifying campaign, as they went unbeaten through 17 games to finish top of the single South American qualifying group.