Neymar returns to action just days before Ancelotti's first squad is announced

Brazilian star Neymar returned to action after a five-week absence due to injury, but his team, Santos, were eliminated from the Copa do Brasil by a second-division team in the third round.

The return of the former Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint-Germain, and Al-Hilal star comes just days before Italian Carlo Ancelotti announced his first squad as Brazil coach.

The 33-year-old entered the match against Regatas in the 66th minute and gave his team vitality, but was unable to find the net. The third-round second leg ended goalless, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Santos. The match went to penalties, which the second-division team won.

Neymar scored his penalty, but it was not enough in his first appearance on the pitch since April 16, when he suffered a thigh injury in a league match against Atlético Mineiro.

He said after the match, "I know that the situation (the team) is different on the field when I'm there... I know I can help my teammates."

Neymar had previously suffered a left thigh injury on March 2nd during the São Paulo State Championship quarterfinal against Bragantino, ruling him out of the semifinals and out of the national team's squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.

Neymar returned to his first team in February and made just nine appearances in three months, scoring three goals and providing three assists.

He decided to return to his home country after a very disappointing experience with Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, with whom he made only seven appearances in 17 months due to a serious knee injury that kept him out of action for over a year.

There is a possibility that his country's all-time top scorer (79 goals) will be called up on Monday by Ancelotti, who will announce his first squad as coach of the five-time world champions for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay on June 5 and 10.

After 14 rounds of South American qualifying, Brazil is in fourth place, qualifying for the World Cup, six points behind seventh-place Venezuela, which will play in the international playoffs.

The first place in the unified group has been decided for defending world champions Argentina, while second-placed Ecuador is just two points ahead of Brazil with four rounds remaining.

Ancelotti will not have much time left, as the 65-year-old officially begins his tenure on Monday, two days after his final match with Real Madrid against Real Sociedad in the final match of the Spanish league.

The man who led Real Madrid to 15 titles during his two spells with the club, including three Champions League titles, will become Brazil's first foreign coach and the fourth to take over the Selecao in three years, underscoring the extent of the turmoil facing the five-time world champions.

The first task awaits him at the turn: announcing his squad for the qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay on Matchday 15 and 16.

Carletto is seen as a savior in a football-mad country that has been frustrated for years by a national team that is now a shadow of its former self, inspiring generations of fans and winning five World Cups, the last of which came in 2002.