World Cup 2026: start of the decisive days, will Neymar join the other stars?

After Mbappé, Messi, Haaland and Ronaldo, will Neymar in turn have the opportunity to shine at the 2026 World Cup?

While three groups will deliver their verdict on Wednesday and several tickets for the round of 16 will be distributed, the Brazilian star could play a few minutes in his team’s match against Scotland.

. Group stage, the conclusion

On Wednesday, six of the last 24 matches of this first round are on the program, with the conclusion of groups A, B and C.

In Group A, Mexico is already qualified before facing the Czech Republic, but South Korea must still secure its place by taking at least a point against South Africa. In Group B, host country Canada and Switzerland are very well placed before facing each other in Vancouver.

But the real curiosity will come from Group C and Miami, where Brazil faces Scotland at 10:00 p.m. GMT. Carlo Ancelotti’s players only need one point to qualify for sure, but they are aiming higher and could count on the reinforcement of Neymar.

Selected at the last minute and unavailable since the start of the tournament, the former Barcelona and Parisian could indeed play a few minutes.

“He can play, he’s doing well, he’s trained very well. I am very happy with him,” declared Ancelotti, the Italian coach of the Seleção.

And according to his teammate Gabriel Martinelli, Neymar has even found “a very high level”. “We did training and we could see his quality, we were nailed,” he said.

For its part, solid Morocco must finish the job against Haiti, one of the few teams already eliminated from the tournament.

. Ronaldo finally there

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland had already left their mark on this World Cup and Cristiano Ronaldo had to respond after a failed start to the competition.

Against Uzbekistan, swept 5-0, he scored a double, becoming at 41 years and 138 days the first player in history to score in six World Cups.

Portugal was agitated over the “CR7” case, the subject of an inflammable debate around its indestructible status in the Seleção. But in Houston, he was able to extinguish it at least temporarily, by scoring the first and third goals for his team, his 144th and 145th in 230 caps.

The rest will tell if he can play as big a role as Messi (five goals), Mbappé or even Haaland (four each), in the offensive blockbuster which is livening up this start of the tournament.

The next meeting will be a real test, with first place in Group K at stake, against Colombia, which currently occupies it.

In this pool as in the others, the time for the first calculations has therefore come. But while the group stage ends on Saturday, the program for the round of 16 remains very mysterious: with the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams, there are in fact 495 possible combinations for the composition of the table!

. Happy birthday Messi!

Another star in action on Tuesday, the Englishman Harry Kane failed to score against Ghana (0-0), despite a huge opportunity, one of those he normally never misses: perfectly placed to volley close to the cages a ball sent back through the crossbar, the top scorer in the history of the Three Lions sent it… into the stands. A big miss, in the 86th minute, which deprived his team of a second victory and therefore a direct ticket to the 16th.

Game probably postponed, because England remains at the top of Group L, thanks to a better goal difference than Ghana, also well placed.

In Toronto, for the 200th of the stainless Luka Modric, Croatia provided the essentials without shining, by winning against Panama (1-0), at the same time eliminated. The Croatians, finalists in 2018, will have to not lose on Saturday against the Ghanaians to hope to advance to the 16th round.

Argentina, for its part, is already qualified and Lionel Messi and his team can benefit from a little relaxation. “We started the evening with a nice surprise. THANKS ! », Wrote the Argentinian No.10 on his Instagram account, above a photo showing him surrounded by several of his closest teammates (Rodrigo De Paul, Lisandro Martinez, etc.) in front of a birthday cake. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner celebrated his 39th birthday this Wednesday.

AFP