João Cancelo Defends Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar at World Cup

João Cancelo has stepped firmly into the line of fire to defend two of modern football’s biggest lightning rods. For the Portugal full-back, the criticism raining down on Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar at this World Cup says more about the noise around the game than the players themselves.

Ronaldo, 41 and still carrying his country’s armband, has been hammered in sections of the media after a flat display in Portugal’s opening 1-1 draw with Congo DR. Neymar, 34, has not kicked a ball for Brazil in their first two matches because of a calf injury, yet his very presence in the squad has been questioned.

Cancelo is having none of it.

“I don't think Neymar or Cristiano need to prove anything to anyone,” he told reporters, brushing aside the narrative that the two icons are clinging to past glories. For him, the evidence is already written across two extraordinary careers.

Their numbers back him up. Ronaldo has joined Argentina captain Lionel Messi in an exclusive club as only the second player to appear at six World Cups. Across more than two decades in the Portugal shirt since his debut in 2003, he has amassed 143 goals – the most by any man in international football history.

Neymar’s record is just as stark. The forward is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, with 79 goals in 128 appearances, and has not featured for his country since tearing his ACL in October 2023 while on international duty. Even so, his place in the squad has sparked debate as he works his way back.

For Cancelo, that debate misses the point.

“Their talent and what they've achieved in football speak for themselves,” he said. “All that talk is just for show. Both Cristiano and Neymar know who they are and what they represent for their countries."

While the outside world dissects their every step, players preparing to face them take a different view. Jack Hendry, Scotland’s centre-back, is not shrinking from the prospect of seeing Neymar line up on the opposite side on Wednesday when Brazil meet Scotland in Miami.

Neymar has sat out Brazil’s first two Group C fixtures with that calf problem, but head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed the forward is fit and available for the clash with the Scots. If he plays, Hendry is ready.

“Yeah, no problem,” the 31-year-old said coolly at Scotland’s training base in Charlotte, North Carolina, when asked about the possibility of facing Neymar again. There was no bravado, just a defender who has been here before.

Hendry has already shared a pitch with the Brazilian star at the highest club level. As a Club Brugge player in the 2021-22 season, he faced Neymar in the Champions League when the Brazilian formed part of a Paris Saint-Germain front three alongside Messi and Kylian Mbappé.

“I'm quite comfortable coming up against Neymar and I look forward to it, it really should be a good battle,” Hendry said.

His career path has kept him in Neymar’s orbit. When Hendry moved to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia in 2023, Neymar arrived in the same league with Al-Hilal before later returning to Brazil with Santos. The two never met as often as expected in the Gulf.

“I think he got injured out in Saudi, he did his ACL, which was unfortunate, obviously I would have played against him more,” Hendry recalled.

That Champions League night with PSG left its mark. “I played against him in the Champions League when he was at PSG, obviously that was a good test,” he said. “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.”

He remembers the details even if the exact scoreline escapes him. “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.”

The lesson from that evening still drives his approach.

“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,” Hendry said. “You learn a lot from these moments, playing against these top calibre players.”

Now, as Neymar edges back towards the World Cup stage and Ronaldo fights through another tournament under the harshest glare, players like Cancelo and Hendry offer a different lens: respect for what has been done, and a readiness for what might come next.

“So I look forward to it,” Hendry added of a potential reunion with Neymar, “and we'll see if he plays.”