Tearful Neymar retires from Brazil after WC exit
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- Neymar announced his Brazil career has "finished" after the team's 2-1 round-of-16 World Cup loss to Norway on Sunday, scoring only a stoppage-time penalty consolation.
- Erling Haaland struck both goals for Norway at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, ending Brazil's tournament and handing them their earliest World Cup exit since 1990.
- Neymar departs as Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 80 goals — three ahead of Pelé — and as just the second Brazilian man to score in four World Cups.
- Neymar's 130 international appearances rank second in Brazil history behind Cafu (142), and his career came full circle at MetLife Stadium, where he debuted against the United States in August 2010.
- Neymar appeared in only two of Brazil's five tournament games due to a nagging right calf injury, limiting his impact in what proved to be his final World Cup.
- Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti called the result "very disappointing" but said the team will "use this defeat as fuel for the new cycle," confirming a transition to a new generation.
Why it matters: Brazil's earliest World Cup exit since 1990 comes at the symbolic end of Neymar's 15-year international career, leaving Carlo Ancelotti to rebuild around a new generation after the country's all-time leading scorer (80 goals) departs. The 2-1 loss to a Haaland-led Norway underscores how quickly the gap between Brazil and Europe's emerging powers has closed.
