João Cancelo Defends Ronaldo and Neymar Amid World Cup Criticism
João Cancelo has stepped into the World Cup spotlight with a firm defence of two of modern football’s biggest lightning rods. For the Portugal full-back, the noise around Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar says more about the critics than the players.
Ronaldo, now 41 and still carrying the armband for Portugal, was hammered after a flat display in the 1-1 draw with Congo DR in their opening game. Neymar, 34, has not kicked a ball yet for Brazil at this tournament because of a calf injury, and his very presence in the squad has been questioned back home.
Cancelo is having none of it.
“I don't think Neymar or Cristiano need to prove anything to anyone,” he told reporters, cutting straight through the debate. Their careers, he argued, have already settled that score. “Their talent and what they've achieved in football speak for themselves. All that talk is just for show. Both Cristiano and Neymar know who they are and what they represent for their countries.”
It is hard to argue with the numbers. Ronaldo has just joined Argentina captain Lionel Messi as only the second player to appear at a sixth World Cup, a staggering stretch of elite longevity. Since his Portugal debut in 2003, he has piled up 143 international goals, more than any man in history.
Neymar’s record is just as heavy with meaning in Brazil. He stands alone as the country’s all-time leading scorer, with 79 goals in 128 appearances. His last game for the Seleção ended in agony: an ACL tear in October 2023 while on international duty. The injury forced him out for months and now shadows every update on his fitness.
Yet the old stars still shape the tournament. Ronaldo remains the focal point of a Portugal side that insists it is “more united” than ever under Roberto Martinez. Brazil, meanwhile, continue to wait for Neymar’s return to the pitch, and the tension around that decision grows with every match he misses.
Hendry ready for Neymar battle
One man, though, is openly relishing the idea of Neymar’s comeback.
Jack Hendry, Scotland’s 31-year-old centre-back, says he has no fear of facing the Brazilian should he be passed fit for Wednesday’s World Cup clash in Miami. Neymar sat out Brazil’s first two Group C fixtures with that calf problem, but head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he is ready to play against the Scots.
At Scotland’s base in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hendry treated the prospect with a shrug.
“Yeah, no problem,” he said calmly when asked about a possible reunion with Neymar. “Obviously, he was out in the league I was in [in Saudi Arabia]. I'm quite comfortable coming up against Neymar and I look forward to it, it really should be a good battle.”
Hendry has been here before. As a Club Brugge player in the 2021-22 season, he lined up in the Champions League against a Paris Saint-Germain front line that read like a fantasy football dream: Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.
“I played against him in the Champions League when he was at PSG, obviously that was a good test,” he recalled. “Obviously the front three at that time were Messi, Mbappé and Neymar. It's a not bad front three so it was a good experience.”
The defender later moved to Al-Ettifaq in 2023, just as Neymar arrived in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal. Their paths never truly crossed there, though.
“I think he got injured out in Saudi, he did his ACL, which was unfortunate, obviously I would have played against him more,” Hendry said.
What stuck with him from that PSG night was the unforgiving nature of facing players at that level.
“I think the first game, we did well. I think maybe 0-0 or 1-1, I can't remember, but I think that was one of the first games they played together,” he said. “So you need to be concentrated, playing against these kind of players, because one split second you switch off, they can punish you, so it was a good experience.
“You learn a lot from these moments, playing against these top calibre players. So I look forward to it and we'll see if he plays.”
While pundits circle around Ronaldo’s every touch and Neymar’s every step in training, Cancelo’s words and Hendry’s stance offer a different lens. For some players, these ageing superstars are not stories to be picked apart but opponents to be measured against, tests to embrace.
If Neymar does walk out in Miami and Ronaldo continues his march through a sixth World Cup, the questions will not stop. The only issue now is whether the two greats answer them with one more decisive act on the biggest stage of all.
