When the final whistle blew, Neymar Jr sat down in the grass, put his head in his hands and sobbed.It wasn’t just that Brazil had been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, losing to Norway 2–1 in the round of 16 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Rather, it signified the true end of the Brazilian legend’s international career.Prior to the summer’s tournament, the 34-year-old had seriously considered that his international career was already over. After all, he hadn’t been called up for his country since 2023, plagued by injury after injury.Yet the entire nation rejoiced when he earned a surprise call-up from manager Carlo Ancelotti for the World Cup, seeing Neymar cry tears of joy at the announcement and allowing him to make a miraculous return to the Seleção. Perhaps no longer the talisman on the pitch, he was nevertheless the spiritual force that gave the team and its fans life. The new talisman, Vinicius Jr, even gave him the iconic No. 10 jersey to wear.Neymar may not have made much of an impression this summer, even missing out on the first two group stages matches due to injury. He made a brief 14-minute cameo in the 3–0 victory over Scotland in the group stage finale and then came on in the 67th against Norway. He did end on a positive note, though, scoring a penalty kick in stoppage time to extend his country’s all-time goals record to 80 and earn Brazil a consolation goal. The Brazilian can walk away for good—after 16 years, four World Cups and two Olympics—with his head held high, knowing that he defied the odds just by simply being there.“I tried. I tried, It started here at MetLife Stadium, and I finished here. It is now over,” he said post-match in tears.READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow