Will Neymar, Messi, and Ronaldo play in the 2026 World Cup?

[ArabBTC]

I've seen a photo of Neymar's current look on the internet recently. He was looking really bad physically. That's why I highly doubt he'll be able to play. Even if he does I don't think he'd get a long playing time...

I don't doubt Messi. We should be seeing him even in the starting eleven regularly. For Ronaldo we might see him like that during group stage but I'm not sure about the part after it. Goncalo Ramos might take his place instead.

Just read that Neymar will not play against Morocco as well, so until now it didn't make any sense to even bring him the the world cup. Sure it was a long shot anyway but you should rather have given the spot to a younger guy that deserves it and is obviously in better physical condition than him. That's what happens what you let media pressure the coach to bring a player that just shouldn't have been brought in the first place.

I don’t know if it is a coaching strategy just to add a big star to the team list, else i see know reason why the Brazil team should bring Neymar with them knowing fully well that Neymar is injured, except Neymar is part of those given the coach some strategies else i see no reason. There was a time i even read somewhere where Neymar said if Brazil gets to the finals that he will play, i was just laughing when i saw it because how can Brazil get to the final if a big player like Neymar isn’t part of the squad, sincerely anytime i see post about Neymar i feel sad because apart from Ronaldo and Messi in this generation i think Neymar should have been the next best player but injuries don’t always allow him to express his full potential, Neymar is such an exceptional player, if Neymar was to be very fit and play every Brazil match in this World Cup, Brazil would have really gone far.

[Crytohillss]

I've seen a photo of Neymar's current look on the internet recently. He was looking really bad physically. That's why I highly doubt he'll be able to play. Even if he does I don't think he'd get a long playing time...

I don't doubt Messi. We should be seeing him even in the starting eleven regularly. For Ronaldo we might see him like that during group stage but I'm not sure about the part after it. Goncalo Ramos might take his place instead.

Just read that Neymar will not play against Morocco as well, so until now it didn't make any sense to even bring him the the world cup. Sure it was a long shot anyway but you should rather have given the spot to a younger guy that deserves it and is obviously in better physical condition than him. That's what happens what you let media pressure the coach to bring a player that just shouldn't have been brought in the first place.

I don’t know if it is a coaching strategy just to add a big star to the team list, else i see know reason why the Brazil team should bring Neymar with them knowing fully well that Neymar is injured, except Neymar is part of those given the coach some strategies else i see no reason. There was a time i even read somewhere where Neymar said if Brazil gets to the finals that he will play, i was just laughing when i saw it because how can Brazil get to the final if a big player like Neymar isn’t part of the squad, sincerely anytime i see post about Neymar i feel sad because apart from Ronaldo and Messi in this generation i think Neymar should have been the next best player but injuries don’t always allow him to express his full potential, Neymar is such an exceptional player, if Neymar was to be very fit and play every Brazil match in this World Cup, Brazil would have really gone far.

I don't think bringing Neymar was the mistakes, if there's even a little chance your best player can help later in the competition most mangers take that risk. Now The real question is whether Brazil had enough depths and strong backup plan if they couldn't recover in time. The biggest problem is whether Brazil relied too heavily on the hope that he'd recovery instead of planning around the players who were fully fit from the start of the match.

[bakasabo]

After look on group stage performance, so far only Messi has performed as everyone expected. He has scored 3 goals already, while Ronaldo and Neymar havent scored yet. Neymar already got an injury, what is a huge minus morale for his team. I havent watched all their games so I have a question - is their appearance on worth taking a place or other player should have been taken in team roster by coach? Except moral support, do Neymar and Ronaldo giving anything?

[GbitG]

After look on group stage performance, so far only Messi has performed as everyone expected. He has scored 3 goals already, while Ronaldo and Neymar havent scored yet. Neymar already got an injury, what is a huge minus morale for his team. I havent watched all their games so I have a question - is their appearance on worth taking a place or other player should have been taken in team roster by coach? Except moral support, do Neymar and Ronaldo giving anything?

So let's me updated your opinion....

After tomorrow match Lionel Messi has now got 5 goals in 2 match as well as Cristiano Ronaldo also spotted two against Uzbekistan in today match. So now only Neymar Jr has the rest to claim his world cup goal. These two Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is already in good shape as well as playing on the field despite Neymar Jr has struggling with injuries suspect like at the beginning of the tournament he got injured but in today on X I saw news regards him like he is ready and will be available to their to paly his first match of the 2026 World Cup.....

This is the last dance for all these three like they all will be hange his boots and will closed their international chapter forever. To be honest this too emotional for all of us especially for GenZ because these legend are their childhood obsession.

[CLS63]

Messi and Ronaldo are already playing. Messi has even been putting a show in the World Cup so far. He is holding the all-time top scorer record in the World Cup now.

Ronaldo started the tournament really poorly but he also made a big progress on the second match week. However Neymar hasn't still played for a single minute.

He has suffered a calf injury but I have read he might have a chance to play against Scotland.

[Mr Reporter]

I've seen a photo of Neymar's current look on the internet recently. He was looking really bad physically. That's why I highly doubt he'll be able to play. Even if he does I don't think he'd get a long playing time...

I don't doubt Messi. We should be seeing him even in the starting eleven regularly. For Ronaldo we might see him like that during group stage but I'm not sure about the part after it. Goncalo Ramos might take his place instead.

Just read that Neymar will not play against Morocco as well, so until now it didn't make any sense to even bring him the the world cup. Sure it was a long shot anyway but you should rather have given the spot to a younger guy that deserves it and is obviously in better physical condition than him. That's what happens what you let media pressure the coach to bring a player that just shouldn't have been brought in the first place.

I don’t know if it is a coaching strategy just to add a big star to the team list, else i see know reason why the Brazil team should bring Neymar with them knowing fully well that Neymar is injured, except Neymar is part of those given the coach some strategies else i see no reason. There was a time i even read somewhere where Neymar said if Brazil gets to the finals that he will play, i was just laughing when i saw it because how can Brazil get to the final if a big player like Neymar isn’t part of the squad, sincerely anytime i see post about Neymar i feel sad because apart from Ronaldo and Messi in this generation i think Neymar should have been the next best player but injuries don’t always allow him to express his full potential, Neymar is such an exceptional player, if Neymar was to be very fit and play every Brazil match in this World Cup, Brazil would have really gone far.

I don't think bringing Neymar was the mistakes, if there's even a little chance your best player can help later in the competition most mangers take that risk. Now The real question is whether Brazil had enough depths and strong backup plan if they couldn't recover in time. The biggest problem is whether Brazil relied too heavily on the hope that he'd recovery instead of planning around the players who were fully fit from the start of the match.

Well most people said it was a bigger mistake having to bring him at first, but it was so obvious that he was way more than what people expected of him, and the mangers didn’t even see it as a bigger risk having to him play in the game..And as for Brazil the issues we should be looking at is if they are able to give a decent chance to players…and it till shows that they are hoping and still hoping for alot to happen… And some how I could come to an agreement with you that Neymar showed up playing way above what the people are even expecting him to give…and that how it sure looks like to me

[Byebyebtc]

Messi and Ronaldo are already playing. Messi has even been putting a show in the World Cup so far. He is holding the all-time top scorer record in the World Cup now.

Ronaldo started the tournament really poorly but he also made a big progress on the second match week. However Neymar hasn't still played for a single minute.

He has suffered a calf injury but I have read he might have a chance to play against Scotland.

Yeah Ronaldo scored two goals today and really stepped up for his country, he started the World Cup bad but he’s starting to improve and rise up to the occasion, let’s see how his next few matches go. Still, Messi is on another level right now, Messi is just built different, He’s been putting on a masterclass and holding the all-time World Cup top scorer record for good reason, he’s clearly the best of the three, He’s just the better player overall.
Neymar is unlucky with that calf injury. Hope he gets fit soon and can show something against Scotland, but right now he’s missing out while the other two are carrying their teams. Let’s see how it goes.

[Webutxo]

After look on group stage performance, so far only Messi has performed as everyone expected. He has scored 3 goals already, while Ronaldo and Neymar havent scored yet. Neymar already got an injury, what is a huge minus morale for his team. I havent watched all their games so I have a question - is their appearance on worth taking a place or other player should have been taken in team roster by coach? Except moral support, do Neymar and Ronaldo giving anything?

You see the way Anceloti is moving in this world cup, he is that kind that doesn't force things on player especially if they are liability for him instead of been a finisher. Why do you think he doesn't exclude Vinicious on all his games, it's because he delivers and rarely go for injuries. Neymar is good too but at this stage, forcing him to the team is more like entertaining the people instead of making the team work so they can have better chance in winning.

Ronaldo score brace today to mark his first two goal in 2026 world cup and I must say I am happy for him, if not that he score two goals today, most of this Messi fans will not let us rest, they will be feeling like they are on top of the world but glad everything is shifting back to neutral now. What's left for Ronaldo is to not lose their next match, so they can proceed to the next stage.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Yeah Ronaldo scored two goals today and really stepped up for his country, he started the World Cup bad but he’s starting to improve and rise up to the occasion, let’s see how his next few matches go. Still, Messi is on another level right now, Messi is just built different, He’s been putting on a masterclass and holding the all-time World Cup top scorer record for good reason, he’s clearly the best of the three, He’s just the better player overall.
Neymar is unlucky with that calf injury. Hope he gets fit soon and can show something against Scotland, but right now he’s missing out while the other two are carrying their teams. Let’s see how it goes.

Well to be fair, they also faced an opponent that makes it more easy to score against them, right? These 2 goal have been fairly easy ones, not something he should get too excited about. The "i'm back" shout from him after is a bit cringe if you ask me, haha. Obviously he had a lot of pressure and any goal would feel like a big relief for him, guess that's why he celebrated that excessively after scoring. It's not like he just scored a dream goal or a cup winning decider. 

[Obim34]

Well to be fair, they also faced an opponent that makes it more easy to score against them, right? These 2 goal have been fairly easy ones, not something he should get too excited about. The "i'm back" shout from him after is a bit cringe if you ask me, haha. Obviously he had a lot of pressure and any goal would feel like a big relief for him, guess that's why he celebrated that excessively after scoring. It's not like he just scored a dream goal or a cup winning decider. 

Right, I'm not the only one feeling this way. Ronaldo got the goals very easily against one of the worst countries in the tournament, though the goals count and record tick, but deep down, there is nothing so exciting about the performance.

Since he's back, I guess we will be seeing more goals from him, especially when facing a more difficult opponent.

[$crypto$]

He has suffered a calf injury but I have read he might have a chance to play against Scotland.

Well finally the Brazilian superstar will play against Scotland soon, I hope he doesn't get another injury incident.

I am very curious about his first appearance in this World Cup when other star players have collected more than 2 goals, maybe Neymar can score a goal to set a record and compare with others.

[Hvdv]

Messi and Ronaldo have played two matches, and Messi is currently leading the goalscoring charts. Ronaldo scored two goals last night. Watching their rivalry is still very enjoyable. I think we are living in a very lucky time for football. Because, in a world where even one of them would be difficult to compare, these two are competing against each other at the same time. There is the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo, at 41 years old, is still scoring goals and delivering top-level performances in the World Cup.

[Dunamisx]

Messi and Ronaldo have played two matches, and Messi is currently leading the goalscoring charts. Ronaldo scored two goals last night. Watching their rivalry is still very enjoyable.

One thing you need to know is that Portugal will always afford to see Messi play for them just for the advantage sake they will get and upper edge of winning every of their match, likewise the way expect of Portugal, for no reason will they try to withhold Ronaldo from playing for them when they know that they stand a better chance as well beat their opponents, so let's see how they could perform furthermore in subsequent rounds.

[rdluffy]

Well finally the Brazilian superstar will play against Scotland soon, I hope he doesn't get another injury incident.

I am very curious about his first appearance in this World Cup when other star players have collected more than 2 goals, maybe Neymar can score a goal to set a record and compare with others.

To conclude this thread, all that's missing is for Neymar to actually play
All three have been called up
Messi and Ronaldo have already played, won, and scored goals

Only Neymar is missing

I believe he will play a few minutes today, maybe 15 or 20 minutes to get some rhythm and start slowly
If everything goes well, he can probably play half a game in the Round of 32

[kriminall]

Messi and Ronaldo have played two matches, and Messi is currently leading the goalscoring charts. Ronaldo scored two goals last night. Watching their rivalry is still very enjoyable.

One thing you need to know is that Portugal will always afford to see Messi play for them just for the advantage sake they will get and upper edge of winning every of their match, likewise the way expect of Portugal, for no reason will they try to withhold Ronaldo from playing for them when they know that they stand a better chance as well beat their opponents, so let's see how they could perform furthermore in subsequent rounds.

I'm honestly curious about their performances in the later rounds. So far, everything is going well for Messi. Ronaldo, on the other hand, found his form in this match. The rivalry between the two teams and the two players makes the World Cup enjoyable. Perhaps, most likely, this will be the last World Cup for both of them. Therefore, watching them is, in my opinion, a privilege we don't yet realize.

[KTChampions]

~
Only Neymar is missing

I believe he will play a few minutes today, maybe 15 or 20 minutes to get some rhythm and start slowly
If everything goes well, he can probably play half a game in the Round of 32

Neymar will probably be given time today since nothing depends on the outcome of the game with Scotland. The problem is that 1st place in Group C plays against 2nd place in Group F, and 2nd place in Group C plays against 1st place in Group F. Considering that in Group F 1-3 places will be distributed between the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden, it doesn’t make much difference which place to take, since the opponent is unknown and these three are approximately the same. Brazil and Morocco have guaranteed themselves a top-2 spot, so they're unlikely to strain themselves.

[ZeroVinsonN]

I've seen a photo of Neymar's current look on the internet recently. He was looking really bad physically. That's why I highly doubt he'll be able to play. Even if he does I don't think he'd get a long playing time...

I don't doubt Messi. We should be seeing him even in the starting eleven regularly. For Ronaldo we might see him like that during group stage but I'm not sure about the part after it. Goncalo Ramos might take his place instead.

Just read that Neymar will not play against Morocco as well, so until now it didn't make any sense to even bring him the the world cup. Sure it was a long shot anyway but you should rather have given the spot to a younger guy that deserves it and is obviously in better physical condition than him. That's what happens what you let media pressure the coach to bring a player that just shouldn't have been brought in the first place.

I don’t know if it is a coaching strategy just to add a big star to the team list, else i see know reason why the Brazil team should bring Neymar with them knowing fully well that Neymar is injured, except Neymar is part of those given the coach some strategies else i see no reason. There was a time i even read somewhere where Neymar said if Brazil gets to the finals that he will play, i was just laughing when i saw it because how can Brazil get to the final if a big player like Neymar isn’t part of the squad, sincerely anytime i see post about Neymar i feel sad because apart from Ronaldo and Messi in this generation i think Neymar should have been the next best player but injuries don’t always allow him to express his full potential, Neymar is such an exceptional player, if Neymar was to be very fit and play every Brazil match in this World Cup, Brazil would have really gone far.

I don't think bringing Neymar was the mistakes, if there's even a little chance your best player can help later in the competition most mangers take that risk. Now The real question is whether Brazil had enough depths and strong backup plan if they couldn't recover in time. The biggest problem is whether Brazil relied too heavily on the hope that he'd recovery instead of planning around the players who were fully fit from the start of the match.

They were too dependent on him for their victory, they should understand that if without him they won't be able to play anything then it'd best for them to try and build the rest of their teams to the point where a single player won't be their sole hope at victory, it's a team afterall, one player can't win alone, they can learn from their mistakes and improve from there, Neymar is an amazing player but he is nothing alone on the pitch.

[rdluffy]

Neymar will probably be given time today since nothing depends on the outcome of the game with Scotland. The problem is that 1st place in Group C plays against 2nd place in Group F, and 2nd place in Group C plays against 1st place in Group F. Considering that in Group F 1-3 places will be distributed between the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden, it doesn’t make much difference which place to take, since the opponent is unknown and these three are approximately the same. Brazil and Morocco have guaranteed themselves a top-2 spot, so they're unlikely to strain themselves.

It's not guaranteed yet



If Brazil loses to Scotland and Morocco wins against Haiti, Brazil will finish third and the combination of results will be quite different
Brazil really wants and needs to win this match

If they qualify in third place, there's a chance they'll have to face Germany, France, or Norway, for example, due to the greater complexity of the third-placed teams

This match is very important

[JoyceBTC]

Ronaldo score brace today to mark his first two goal in 2026 world cup and I must say I am happy for him, if not that he score two goals today, most of this Messi fans will not let us rest, they will be feeling like they are on top of the world but glad everything is shifting back to neutral now. What's left for Ronaldo is to not lose their next match, so they can proceed to the next stage.

Portugal winning the game by 5:0 is something they should be proud of it is not about who scored two goals. Ronaldo is a exceptional player he holds the record as the only player in history to have scored in six world cup that he has played that alone is enough to stop football lovers from disrespecting him but since Messi is still playing the competition will be there and fans will expect Ronaldo to do more when Messi is doing well too. Portugal is 4 point now they have one last game to be through to the group stage and Ronaldo is expected to continue scoring goals and his team performing very well, if they do more of team work which works better for them then they will go far I nthe competition.

[Tonimez]

Ronaldo score brace today to mark his first two goal in 2026 world cup and I must say I am happy for him, if not that he score two goals today, most of this Messi fans will not let us rest, they will be feeling like they are on top of the world but glad everything is shifting back to neutral now. What's left for Ronaldo is to not lose their next match, so they can proceed to the next stage.

Portugal winning the game by 5:0 is something they should be proud of it is not about who scored two goals. Ronaldo is a exceptional player he holds the record as the only player in history to have scored in six world cup that he has played that alone is enough to stop football lovers from disrespecting him but since Messi is still playing the competition will be there and fans will expect Ronaldo to do more when Messi is doing well too. Portugal is 4 point now they have one last game to be through to the group stage and Ronaldo is expected to continue scoring goals and his team performing very well, if they do more of team work which works better for them then they will go far I nthe competition.

At this point, Ronaldo needs to be scoring goals in all the games especially this next game because they have to win the game to be able to top the table. This world cup tournament is very challenging and even more tasking to Ronaldo because that's his last dance and by age, it is almost very impossible to return to this stage as a player by 2030. The world is watching and waiting for the outcome of this game. If Ronaldo wins this world cup, the entire world will certainly go crazy especially because he is doing it at a very old age. He is the oldest outfield player in the tournament and that's why scoring brace in that game was more significant coupled with the fact that the two goals were almost impossible for anyone to score based on the precision.

Christiano Ronaldo is a genius and has a way of replying his haters. I am yet to understand why Neymar is part of the Brazil squad because just like always, he will always be injured and we have already seen it now. I hope he gets better and feature in the world cup with his goal too, by so doing, it will all be balanced because he is really a talented player if not for the sake of injury.