The Brazilian Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time

While Ousmane Dembele was crowned the prestigious football award in the autumn months, Neymar was lying in bed for his third injury of the year - while taking part in an online poker tournament.

The veteran Brazilian ace ultimately finished as second place, securing around £73,800 in tournament winnings.

It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona receive the award he had long hoped to win.

Since coming back to his youth team Santos in the new year, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his on-field performances.

His return home after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to regain his form and, most importantly, revive a love of football that seemed diminished after disappointing periods with PSG and Al Hilal.

Instead, it has been generally unsatisfactory for each stakeholder.

This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament.

He's running out of time.

On midweek, Brazil manager the Italian tactician announced his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was not in it.

"O Principe", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for two years.

He continues to be an fitness concern for the autumn fixtures, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in spring 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the final list for the World Cup.

"But nobody wins the World Cup single-handedly. Putting all our expectations on him at the moment is problematic because he has difficulty to even play multiple matches in a row."

Not just has Neymar had various physical concerns since his return to Brazil - he's been absent for 47% of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a far cry from the player who during his zenith competed with the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of his several attacking returns so far, half have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a goal and assist against Agua Santa, followed by a goal and two assists versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.

As Santos battle against demotion in the Brazilian first tier, the playmaker no longer seems to be the decisive factor he once was.

Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is prepared for the World Cup.

Ancelotti caused local debate last month by allegedly attempting to shield Neymar, claiming the star had been omitted from the team over physical condition issues.

But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."

In terms of public perception, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.

Polls from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are divided over whether Neymar should be selected for his next global tournament.

With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't helped his case much with his conduct during matches either.

He seems increased agitation than normal, having confronted fans repeatedly in stadiums - it occurred in successive games in July.

The next month, the striker was emotional after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the heaviest defeat of his career.

When questioned by a reporter about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "Again with this, friend? I've responded to this repeatedly already."

The identical inquiry has been directed at his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.

"Neymar's intention was to spend five months at Santos. For what? To regain fitness. If Neymar was able to feature, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among followers.

There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's prime period aren't over and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome skepticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.

The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend notes similarities.

"It's an overstatement from a small group who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery.

Those who have been in football understand completely how challenging it is to recover from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's progressing well."

The Brazilian forward has a critical period ahead to prove that he's not the heir who relinquished his status.