Neymar admitted that he feared he would not be able to play again in the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the Brazil national football team after suffering an injury in his first match in the competition.
Brazil kicked off their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Serbia. However, Neymar suffered an injury in that match and was ruled out for the rest of Brazil’s group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Subsequently, Neymar missed Brazil’s 1-0 win over Switzerland and a 1-0 loss to Cameroon in Group G. However, he returned to action when Brazil faced South Korea in the round of 16.
The Paris Saint-Germán superstar was impressive for Brazil as they cruised to a 4-1 win over South Korea to book their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.
Read more: Brazil vs South Korea: Brazil book their place in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup
Neymar feared he would not play again in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after suffering an injury
Speaking after the match, Neymar admitted that he feared he would not be able to play again in this FIFA World Cup after picking up an injury in the opening game.
The Brazilian superstar also said that he was happy after the 4-1 win over South Korea as he did not feel any ankle pain and his performance was good.
“I didn’t feel any pain in my ankle and my performance was very good, so I’m happy,” Neymar told reporters after Brazil secured their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
“When I got injured I had a very difficult night and I was thinking about a million different things. I was afraid of not being able to play again in this World Cup.
Read more: Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles ruled out for remainder of 2022 FIFA World Cup
“But I have the support of all my teammates and my family and I tried to find strength where I could find it, and all the messages I received throughout my recovery were very good for me.”
Meanwhile, Brazil crushed South Korea in a nightmare first half for the latter, as the South American heavyweights scored four goals in the first 36 minutes. Brazil opened their scoring in the seventh minute of the game through Vinicius Jr.
Neymar doubled his lead in the 13th minute by converting a penalty. Richarlison made it 3-0 in the 29th minute before Lucas Paquetá set up a four-goal cushion in the 36th minute. South Korea pulled one back in the second half as Brazil secured a 4-1 victory.
