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Brazil star Neymar has said that he is not sure if he will play for his country again after the South American side endured a shock defeat on penalties to Croatia on Friday to see them of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil were favorites for the competition this year but crashed out yesterday evening after a 1-1 draw with their European opponents saw their quarter-final to a penalty shootout which Croatia won. Croatia netted all their spot-kicks but Rodrygo has Brazil’s opening penalty saved while Marquinhos hit the post with the side’s fourth penalty.
Neymar had not been at his best in normal time, but popped up in the first-half of injury time to get what looked like the tie’s winning goal. The attacker played himself into the Croatian box with some intricate passing to score from a tight angle at the end of the first-half of injury time. The score put him equal with Brazil legend Pele as ‘s record of 77 goals for the nation.
However, Croatia would stick to their task and netted an equalizer courtesy of Bruno Petkovic late in the second-half of injury time to see the game end one apiece and go to penalties. Neymar himself had been lined up to take Brazil’s fifth and final penalty but he never got the chance as misses from his teammates earlier on saw his side exit the World Cup.
Neymar: ‘I Don’t Know’
The PSG star was in tears upon the end of the marathon contest in the heat of Doha. Since then, the 30-year old star has not confirmed whether or not he will appear for the Selecao again.
When asked if he would don the famous yellow jersey again in his career, the player responded, “Honestly, I do not know.”
“I think talking now is bad because of the heat of the moment,” he told a reporter, “Maybe I’m not thinking straight.”
“I want to take this time to think about it, think about what I want for myself,” he added, “I will not close the door to playing with Brazil, nor do I say 100 per cent that I’ll come back.”

Neymar’s Brazil Career
So far, the ex-Barcelona player has made 124 appearances for his country since his debut in 2010, netting 77 goals in that timeframe. The 2022 tournament in Qatar is the forward’s third World Cup for Brazil, although he has yet to get past the semi-final stages.
In the Brazil-hosted tournament of 2014, the side finished fourth while in Russia 2018, they did not progress past the quarter-final stage, as in Qatar this year.
The side’s exit means they have been prevented from appearing in an all-South American semi-final in Doha. Had they beaten Croatian, they would have faced arch-rivals Argentina at the competition’s semi-final stage in what would surely have been a fiery affair.
Instead, the Croats will face the Argentineans, who also progressed to the semi-final via a penalty shootout in which they overcame the Netherlands. The defeat of Brazil and exit from the competition has seen the side’s head coach, Tite, step down from his position.
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