By Opta Analyst | Created at 2025-03-20 12:50:33 | Updated at 2025-03-21 02:17:04
13 hours ago
The post-Neymar era has arrived. Vinícius, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Endrick… the names are there. But can any of them become Brazil’s next global icon?
Brazil began their latest World Cup qualification campaign with a noticeably different set up compared to their 2018 and 2022 tournament cycles. After successive quarter-final exits, head coach Tite stepped down, bringing an end to his long tenure.
Brazil’s penalty-shootout defeat to Croatia at Qatar in 2022 extended their World Cup drought to two decades, equalling their longest stretch without lifting the trophy since they first won it in 1958. While most nations would consider a World Cup every 24 years a remarkable achievement, for Brazil, it’s simply not good enough.
Their quest to qualify for the 2026 tournament began under interim guidance, with Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz taking charge, the former juggling his national team role with duties at Fluminense.
After unsuccessful efforts to lure Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid, the CBF opted for a domestic solution. In early 2024, Dorival Júnior was appointed, fresh off back-to-back Copa do Brasil titles with São Paulo (2023) and Flamengo (2022), as well as a Copa Libertadores crown with the latter.
But Dorival has had to navigate a new era without Brazil’s most influential player of the past 15 years. Neymar, the Seleção’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, suffered a serious ACL injury while on national team duty in October 2023, ruling him out for over a year. The setback came just months after his high-profile move to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, kicking off a frustrating period blighted by fitness issues. Having missed over a year of action with that knee injury, his injury woes persisted. A few weeks later, he suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year.
In search of a fresh start, Neymar rejoined Santos, the club where he made his professional debut in 2009. He impressed with three goals in seven appearances, prompting Dorival to hand him a recall to the Brazil setup. However, another injury struck and he missed the Paulistão semi-final against Corinthians, so he was withdrawn from the national squad again.
His impact has been significant, though. Despite only featuring in four of Brazil’s 12 World Cup qualifiers so far, Neymar has still contributed five goal involvements (two goals, three assists). Only four players across the continent have better totals, all of whom have played more games: Nicolás de la Cruz (6 in 7), James Rodríguez (6 in 12), Darwin Núñez (7 in 10), and Lionel Messi (9 in 9).
With their talisman unavailable, Dorival has turned to new faces. Fifteen players have made their senior debuts since his appointment in 2024, as Brazil search for new solutions in attack.
Yet problems remain. Despite boasting some of the most in-form attackers in Europe’s top leagues, Brazil sit fifth in the current CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings, following a disappointing quarter-final exit from the Copa América last summer.
One key figure is Vinícius Júnior. After winning The Best FIFA Men’s Player award last year, he has continued his fine form for Real Madrid. The winger has already recorded 29 goal involvements this season, just four shy of last season’s tally (33).
Now sharing attacking duties with Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius remains one of La Liga’s most dynamic players. His 150 attempted dribbles puts him third in the league, behind only Nico Williams (154) and Lamine Yamal (197), with Mbappé two behind him.
Vinícius has sought to replicate that direct style for Brazil, averaging 6.2 take-ons per 90 minutes in qualifying, only slightly below his 7.9 per 90 at Real Madrid this season. Yet his end product for the national team remains limited; he’s yet to score and has just one assist in 550 minutes of action.
Another Real Madrid forward struggling to transfer his club form to the international stage is Rodrygo.
Despite speculation he could lose his place following Mbappé’s arrival, the 24-year-old has remained productive at Madrid, with 22 goal involvements this season – the same tally as Jude Bellingham, and behind only Vinícius (29) and Mbappé (36). He is also joint-top for Madrid for chances created in La Liga (46), level with Luka Modric.
However, in World Cup qualifying, Rodrygo has just three goals and no assists in 10 appearances, and two of those strikes came in their opening fixture against Bolivia. He has created 10 open-play chances in the campaign, matching Neymar’s total, but ranks outside the top 10 for chance creation across players from all teams.
The absence of Neymar should be softened by the extraordinary form of Barcelona’s Raphinha. He’s been in scintillating form for his club, but his national team contributions have fluctuated.
He is Brazil’s top scorer since Dorival took charge (4 goals) and, while that’s a respectable return, it doesn’t reflect the heights he’s hit for Barça this season. Raphinha has been involved in 45 goals across all competitions in 2024-25, second only to Mohamed Salah (54) among players in Europe’s top five leagues. No Brazilian has hit those numbers since Neymar in 2015-16 (51), a tally Raphinha looks set to surpass.
His performances in the UEFA Champions League have been especially remarkable, setting a new record for goals by a Brazilian in a single season (11). He’s also created 117 chances in all competitions – 37 more than any other La Liga player.
Under Dorival, Raphinha has five goals and two assists in 15 appearances (1,125 minutes). It’s a solid return, but many still remember his underwhelming 2022 World Cup campaign, where he failed to register a single goal involvement across 317 minutes. Now is the time for him to deliver on the international stage.
There are other attacking options too. While Endrick and Estevão Willian remain teenage prospects, both Savinho and João Pedro offer quality in reserve to the three aforementioned La Liga stars.
Savinho has settled well at Manchester City, registering a team-high nine assists in all competitions. Last season at Girona, he led La Liga for open-play expected assists (8.8) and goal involvements following carries (10).
João Pedro, despite injury setbacks, is growing in influence at Brighton. The 23-year-old has scored 28 goals since arriving last season, though 13 have come from penalties. Notably, he has won nine of those himself, more than any Premier League player over that period.
Matheus Cunha is another useful attacking option. After a career-best 14 goals last season, he’s already surpassed that total in 2024-25 (15). He has been involved in nearly half of Wolves’ Premier League goals this season, with 13 goals and four assists (43%).
With six of Brazil’s attacking players for the qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina aged 24 or younger, the future looks bright. Whether Dorival Júnior can harness that talent to end Brazil’s World Cup drought is another matter entirely.
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