Diniz downplays Neymar’s injury as reason for Brazil defeat against Uruguay
Brazil interim manager Fernando Diniz said he refuses to use Neymar’s first-half injury as an excuse for his side’s 2-0 defeat against Uruguay in Montevideo.
The former Barcelona and PSG forward was replaced by Richarlison in the 44th minute after picking up what looked like a serious left knee injury after tripping and falling from a run.
However, the five-time world champions were already behind before the departure of their No. 10, and Diniz reiterated that his injury wasn’t the reason for their loss, as there was ample time for them to fight their way back into the contest; rather, they conceded another in the second half.
Diniz said: “We have a tendency to do simpler analyses for more complex problems. If you were right about what you were talking about Neymar, we would have had a lot of depth, a lot of possibilities created, and that’s not what happened.”
“In the second half, we were even a little better than the first half. The team as a whole was not doing well [today] in terms of creating chances. The game was very stuck, there was a lack of continuity, but not because of one player or another player; there was a lack of continuity.
“But because the team could not build and in that sense, the main person responsible is myself. It’s not because one player or the other was missing, because Neymar left in the first half with 5 minutes left to finish and we never had any coordination, as you said.
“I repeat, in the second half there was even a little more coordination, we were able to arrive from the sides,” the 49-year-old Fluminense boss concluded.
Neymar was in tears with both of his hands on his face as he left the Estadio Centenario field on a stretcher as the Selecao suffered their first defeat in 37 matches in World Cup qualifying.
The Al-Hilal forward was pictured in crutches as he left the stadium after the game, and Brazil’s doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, revealed that it was too early to ascertain the severity of his injury.
“We did all the tests and we will repeat them tomorrow,” the team doctor said. “Those 24 hours are key to see how his knee will respond, how swollen it will be and what images will show.
“Let’s wait for the exams with calmness, evaluate with calmness and tell you once we have a diagnosis.”
Uruguay won the tie thanks to goals from Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and Nicolas de la Cruz, and La Celeste did not only put an end to a long-standing record for the Samba Boys; they also leapfrogged them into second place in the CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers standings.
