From hero to mentor: how Neymar is shaping Brazil's next generation at the 2026 World Cup
Sidelined by injury, Neymar has found a new role at the 2026 World Cup: mentoring the young guns. Endrick reveals private conversations and the star's behind-the-scenes influence on the national team.
Thirteen years as the main act. Now Neymar is playing a different role — and it may be the most important one of his career.
Called up while still recovering from injury for the 2026 World Cup, the No. 10 arrived at the tournament as a substitute and second-half option. But off the pitch, the story is something else entirely: Neymar has become the mentor of Brazil's new generation.
The moment that says it all came during the 2–1 round-of-16 victory over Japan. During a hydration break, he stepped off the bench, walked up to Rayan and said: "go at them." Simple as that. But that is exactly the kind of presence younger players need in a World Cup moment.
Endrick, 19, made no secret of how much that relationship means to him. "I have a really good connection with Ney," the striker said. "We mess around after training, play cards, just hang out." But it goes beyond the laughs: "He talked to me. It's so important to talk to people like that — the captains of the national team. Learning from their experience is something incredible."
Neymar was also the first to spark the celebration when Casemiro scored — the equaliser against Japan — leaping off the bench to lead the party. Leadership doesn't disappear when a player sits down. Sometimes it becomes even more visible.
Golmetria's model gives Brazil a 5.54% chance of winning the title — which, in a 48-team tournament, still represents one of the highest probabilities in the field. The sixth star is unlikely, but not impossible. And if it comes, there will be a little of Neymar's voice in the ear of every one of those young players.
The question that lingers: when the pressure is at its peak, who steps up — and who will Neymar push off that bench?