The Brazilian Undisputed Superstar? Neymar's World Cup Race Against Time

While Ousmane Dembele was crowned the prestigious football award in late September, Neymar was undergoing therapy for his latest physical setback of the year - simultaneously engaging in an virtual card tournament.

The 33-year-old football star eventually placed as second place, collecting around £73,800 in tournament winnings.

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

Since returning to his boyhood club Santos in January, the 33-year-old forward has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for similar incidents 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, rekindle a love of football that seemed diminished after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.

Instead, it has been generally unsatisfactory for each stakeholder.

This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will be part of the 2026 World Cup.

He's running out of time.

On midweek, Brazil head coach the Italian tactician disclosed his squad for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was absent.

"The Prince", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the Selecao for two years.

He continues to be an injury doubt for the November games, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.

"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Putting all our hopes on him at the present time is problematic because he has difficulty to even play multiple matches in a row."

Not just has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his homecoming - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a distant from the player who during his prime competed with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of his several attacking returns so far, five have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's top flight - a goal and assist against Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the regional competition.

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 fit for the World Cup.

Ancelotti stirred local debate last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, stating the star had been omitted from the team over fitness concerns.

But then Neymar himself contradicted this, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my fitness level."

In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.

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

With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.

He seems more on edge than usual, having confronted fans on several occasions in stadiums - it occurred in successive games in July.

The next month, the forward was left in tears after Santos suffered a six-goal home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the worst result of his career.

When questioned by a journalist about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, friend? I've answered this repeatedly already."

The similar query has been directed at his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.

"Neymar's strategy 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 best days remain possible and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome criticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.

The Brazilian great observes comparisons.

"It's an misrepresentation from a minority who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery.

Anyone who have been in football recognize fully how challenging it is to come back from an setback and restore rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."

The Brazilian forward has a few decisive months ahead to show that he's not the heir who relinquished his status.