Neymar needs to lift the World Cup with Brazil to etch his name as a Selecao great, so says Mauro Silva, who referenced Lionel Messi's global success with Argentina.
Messi powered Lionel Scaloni's Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 36 years after lifting the coveted Jules Rimet trophy at the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
Neymar and his Brazil team-mates were eliminated from that edition of the world's top international tournament in a quarter-final defeat to Croatia on penalties.
The Selecao forward equalled Pele's scoring record for Brazil in the Croatia loss, and subsequently broke the landmark with two goals against Bolivia in Friday's World Cup qualifier.
But former Brazil and Deportivo midfielder Silva believes Neymar must achieve glory in the United States and Canada at the 2028 World Cup to fully write his name into national folklore.
The 59-cap Brazil international Silva told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit: "Neymar is among the best. I would say among the five or 10 best in Brazil.
"There are very good footballers in there. Pele, there is Ronaldo, Romario, Bebeto – some very important people. But Neymar is undoubtedly among the best too.
"There is the expectation in Brazil that a player with Neymar's talent is capable of leading Brazil to a World Cup, just as happened with Messi and the Argentina team after so many years.
"Here in Brazil, people hope that a player with Neymar's talent can lead us to this important achievement.
"He is among the most important players in the history of Brazilian football, without a doubt, because of his numbers, for breaking Pele's record, for example.
"But he still has a lot to do.
"I hope he can achieve a World Cup for Brazil and this will undoubtedly consolidate him as one of the greats in the history of Brazilian football."
Since the World Cup Neymar has left Paris Saint-Germain, who he joined from Barcelona, to move to Al Hilal on a lucrative contract in Saudi Arabia.
While the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have made similar transfers to the Saudi Pro League, Silva hopes Neymar can continue to play at his peak in what he feels is a less competitive competition.
Silva added: "It is a challenge because when you are in the best competitions, competing every day, every week with the best teams and players, the demands make you maintain a very high level of performance.
"Now as being in a competition of a level that is not so high, it is a challenge. But let's see what happens.
"Nor can it be said that he will not be able to maintain the level, but I am convinced that this will be a great challenge for Neymar.
"We are in 2023 and the World Cup is in 2026, so there are still three years ahead where despite his age, his years, [Neymar] is in a league that is not as competitive as the European leagues.
"So he will have to maintain this high level to lead Brazil to a conquest. Hopefully he will be able to maintain this level until 2026 at least."
Cuba overturn deficit in 5-2 aggregate Play-In win over St Kitts and Nevis to book Gold Cup prelims spot
Cuba booked their spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup prelims after they turned the tables on St Kitts and Nevis in their Concacaf Nations League Play-In tie on Monday.
Needing to overturn a deficit from their 1-2 first-leg loss, Cuba did just that in commanding fashion as they blanked St Kitts and Nevis 4-0 in a lopsided return-leg encounter at Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba.
After bossing possession for most of the first half, Cuba inevitably broke the deadlock when Onel Hernandez produced a decent solo run on his way to driving home a right-footer from the top of the penalty area to level the series on aggregate at that point.
But the hosts were far from done and doubled the lead on the stroke of the break as Yosel Piedra also converted from close range in the 45+3 to make it 2-0 at the break and 3-2 on aggregate.
With St Kitts and Nevis offering very little resistance on the resumption, Cuba extended their lead in the 50th courtesy of Luis Paradela’s close-range finish.
Maykel Reyes then converted an 87th-minute penalty to cap the win as Cuba continued their march towards making the cut for next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. A win in the preliminary rounds would see them achieving that feat.
Bayern's Palhinha sidelined for weeks with adductor injury
Bayern Munich confirmed Joao Palhinha will be sidelined for several weeks after suffering an adductor injury while on international duty.
The midfielder sustained the issue while training with Portugal, and withdrew from the squad, missing both of their Nations League fixtures against Poland and Croatia.
Palhinha, who joined Bayern on a four-year contract in July from Fulham, has made 13 appearances in all competitions and boasts a 100% tackle completion rate in the Bundesliga (7/7).
"FC Bayern's medical department has confirmed that Joao Palhinha suffered a torn muscle fibre in his right adductor while training with the Portugal national team," the club said. "The midfielder will therefore be sidelined for the coming weeks."
Bayern have been boosted by Aleksandar Pavlovic's return to first-team training over the international break, though he has still not returned to full fitness.
The Bavarians, top of the Bundesliga with a five-point advantage over RB Leipzig, have a busy schedule ahead of them with four matches in 11 days.
Bayern take on Augsburg in the league on Friday before hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next Tuesday. They then travel to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and face holders Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal on December 3.
Curacao secure League A promotion, Gold Cup berth after 4-1 win over St Lucia in Group B
Curacao secured promotion to League A and direct qualification for next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup after they topped Group B of League B in the Concacaf Nations League action on Monday.
The Dutch-speaking Caribbean Island bettered St Lucia 4-1 in their top-of-the-table clash at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curaçao.
Gervane Kastaneer opened the scoring in the 27th with a tidy finish on the volley as he connected well from Jearl Margaritha’s weighted cross.
St Lucia pulled level in the 29th courtesy of Ryan Charles, who won possession at the top of the penalty area and finished at close range.
However, Kastaneer grabbed his brace to put Curacao back on top as he produced another decent close range finish to make it 2-1 at the break.
Any hopes St Lucia had of a comeback were dashed in the 73rd when Juninho Bacuna displayed nippy footwork to dismiss markers and slot home.
Bacuna then completed his brace and Curacao’s rout when he fired home in the 79th to secure their promotion to League A and, by extension, a berth in the Gold Cup.
They topped the group with 13 points, four more than St Lucia (nine points), while Grenada, who were 3-0 winners over St Martin in the other group contest, ended on seven points.
Rahim Dennis (39th) and Keelan Lebon (87th and 90+3) sealed Grenada’s win against St Martin to ensure they stay up in League B for another edition.
By virtue of that loss, St Martin, who finished last on the four-team standings on six points, have been relegated to League C for the next edition of the Nations League.
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