Neymar

Neymar's international career ran from August 2010 to July 2026, during which he became Brazil's record goalscorer, overtaking Pele — one of the sport's most symbolically loaded records.

By the 2026 World Cup, persistent right calf problems had already limited him to a supporting role: he appeared in only two of Brazil's matches, missing large stretches of the tournament while trying to manage the injury.

A left-footed forward whose game is built on close control, feints and quick changes of direction in tight spaces, capable of playing centrally or from the left to cut inside — historically as much a creator through skill and unpredictability as a pure finisher.

Neymar's final Brazil appearance came off the bench against Norway in the round of 16, where he converted a stoppage-time penalty before the final whistle confirmed Brazil's elimination and, by his own announcement, the end of his international career.

"It started here, at MetLife Stadium, and I finished here. It is now over," he said immediately after the match — a deliberate, emotional close to a career defined as much by injury in its final years as by the goals that made him Brazil's record scorer.