The PSG superstar Neymar has been sidelined for several months due to an injury, but has recovered before the World Cup and hopes to bring the glory back to Brazil.

Back after injury

At 26, Neymar is not more just a super-talented youngster, but the most expensive player of the world who is in his prime. When Brazil won any of their five world titles, they always had a true leader - Pele in 1958 and 1970, Garrincha in 1962, Romario in 1994 and Ronaldo in 2002. Now the Selecao have a number of world-class footballers in their squad, but Neymar - with his skills and charisma - iis seen as the nation’s biggest hope.

Last year, Paris Saint-Germain paid 222 millions of euros to Barcelona for the Brazilian, and although reports say that Neymar is not happy in the French capital and would like to return to Spain, statistics confirm that he has been doing well at PSG. In 20 League 1 matches, the forward scored 19 goals, and he could have competed with his teammate Edinson Cavani for the top scorer’s title of Ligue 1, but broke his foot in late February.

After that, Neymar’s season at PSG was over - and there were fears that he would have to miss the World Cup. However, the striker managed to recover and was included into the 23-man Brazil roster. While his physical shape after a three-month break may be not perfect, Neymar - unlike many other international stars - is not tired of football at the end of an enduring season, and his hunger for the game should be beneficial for the five-time world champions.

1:7 should be forgotten

Brazil are the only national team to have participated in every World Cup since the first one in 1930. They are always among the favourites, but after the great team of 2002 featuring Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and Cafu won the gold medal, the Selecao failed to reach the final in three subsequent tournaments. Four years ago, the Brazilians hoped to triumph in their country, but the 7:1 semi-final defeat against Germany became a severe blow for the whole nation.

Since then, the team have gone through a lot of changes. In the current 23-man squad, there are just four players who had a first-hand experience of that fiasco - Marcelo, Fernandinho, Paulinho and Willian. Neymar was also in the team, but he was sidelined due to an injury and could not help Brazil against Germany. And of course the coach has changed as well - following the disgrace in 2014, Luiz Felipe Scolari resigned from his job and was replaced by Dunga. He was fired in 2016, when Selecao were eliminated after the first round of Copa America Centenario - and Tite took over.

Under him, Brazil enjoyed an impressive World Cup qualification and became the first team after the hosts Russia to seal their spot in the finals. That happened already in March 2017, and notably Tite’s players did not slow down afterwards, finishing top of the South American qualification with just one defeat in 18 games (against Chile) and ten points clear of the runners-up Uruguay.

Hopes for sixth title

In Russia, Neymar will be in the spotlight, but Brazi is not just him. In fact, the current squad is one of the best in the team’s recent history - and if they go all the way and win the title, they can be labelled as “the best Selecao of the XXI century.” Indeed, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Philippe Coutinho, Paulinho and Douglas Costa alongside Neymar, Brazil boast a great attacking potential.

That said, they have always had brilliant strikers in the past, but that alone did not necessarily guarantee the ultimate success. Tite’s primary goal is to find the right balance between attack and defence. Actually, he managed to do it well in the qualification, where Brazil conceded just 11 goals. No doubt, in Russia they will miss Dani Alves, as Neymar’s teammate from PSG has to miss the tournament through injury, yet the presence of Thiago Silva, Marcelo and Miranda give the fans hope that the back line will work just fine.

At the World Cup group stage, Brazil will face Switzerland, Serbia and Costa-Rica, and while this is certainly a competitive group, obviously the Selecao have a great chance to go through. However, their goals extend much further than that, and with Neymar as the main hero, Tite’s team hope to be crowned champions for the sixth time in history. So far, Brazil have been the only team to have won the World Cup in Europe, which happened in Sweden in 1958. Now, 60 years later, they strive for another success.