Brazilian and Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior has expressed his discomfort following Brazil’s World Cup defeat by Croatia.
Croatia beat Brazil in a 4-2 penalty shootout at the quarter-final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup after scoring a late equaliser in extra time.
Neymar was set to take Brazil’s fifth penalty but misses by Rodrygo and Marquinhos meant their fate was already sealed and he never stepped up.
In the wake of the loss, the Brazilian forward said in his post on Instagram that the result left him “paralyzed for 10 minutes” – saying that the outcome of the match is “going to hurt for a long time”.
“I’m psychologically destroyed, this was certainly the defeat that hurt the most, which made me paralyzed for 10 minutes and then I burst into tears nonstop. It’s going to hurt for a long time, unfortunately”, he said.
(@neymarjr)
Neymar thanked and applauded his teammates for their commitment to the team. He stated that they [Brazil] deserved the win but unfortunately, “that was not God’s will”.
“We fought until the end, and I’m proud of my teammates because there was no lack of commitment or dedication. This group deserved it, we deserved it, BRAZIL deserved it… It was worth every sacrifice to feel the affection of each one on the field…” he said.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward, however, thanked God for taking care of him throughout the tournament.
“Thank you for everything my GOD, you gave me everything and I can’t complain about anything. Just thank you for taking care of me. All honor and all glory is always for you, regardless of the circumstances,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
Meanwhile, Brazilian media has suggested the team was not united.
But Neymar has since shared messages he exchanged with his teammates following their quarter-final exit “to show how much we wanted [to win the World Cup] and how united we were”.
Neymar has played in three World Cups and equalled Pele’s official goalscoring record of 77 in 124 appearances for the Brazil men’s team when he put his team ahead against Croatia during extra time.
