PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Neymar is expected to return from a right calf injury and play for Brazil in its final World Cup group match, coach Carlo Ancelotti said Friday night.
Neymar missed Brazil's first two games of the tournament, including Friday's 3-0 win over Haiti.
Ancelotti said Neymar would go through individual training on Saturday, train with the team on Monday and “will be available” for Brazil when it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Neymar is Brazil’s career scoring leader with 79 goals in 129 international appearances.
The 34-year-old midfielder has yet to practice in full sessions with the team since reporting to Brazil’s squad while nursing the calf injury.
Looking to play in his fourth World Cup, Neymar had tests on his calf last Monday to determine the progress of the injury that he sustained while playing for Brazilian club Santos on May 17.
There was widespread debate in Brazil over whether Neymar, whose first World Cup was on home soil in 2014, should have been called up for the tournament. He has struggled since returning from tearing the ACL in his left knee in October 2023 in a World Cup qualifier.
Neymar has four goals and two assists in eight matches for Santos this year.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Brazil's Neymar (10) looks on before the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwanmura)
Brazil's Neymar looks on before the World Cup Group C soccer match against Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
ATLANTA (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy wanted to remind everyone after his team's 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night that Jacob Misiorowski is indeed human.
“He was great,” Murphy said of the 24-year-old ace. “He was dominant, fantastic. You know, you're going to give up runs. You're a human. Go back and look at some of the greats. They all gave up runs. We're kind of shocked when he gives up a run.”
Misiorowski (8-3) went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits while striking out seven, but was pulled with the Brewers trailing 2-1. He hit 104.2 mph with his fastball and threw 54 pitches of at least 100 mph, according to Statcast, including a record 47 of 101 mph or higher since tracking started in 2008. The previous high for 101 mph or more was 45 by Misiorowski on June 6 at Colorado.
It was the first time since April 25 that Misiorowski gave up more than one run in a game. He entered on a historic roll, giving up just one earned run over 54 1/3 innings in a span of eight starts.
“I think (the Braves) made good swings and nothing has changed,” Misiorowski said. “I felt fine. They are definitely a really good team. You could see that with all their at-bats today. There wasn't a single at-bat they were off. They were all trying to fight me through the whole game.”
Misiorowski had gone 29 innings without allowing an earned run since May 25 before Mauricio Dubón’s two-run single in the sixth. His major league-leading ERA rose from 1.34 to 1.45.
Misiorowski has pitched well all season, but his 95-pitch, 15-strikeout, one-hit shutout of the Phillies on June 12 turned the spotlight on him like never before.
“He’s got a lot coming at him, and luckily I think a lot of that bounces off him,” Murphy said before Friday's game. “I really respect how he lives his life that way. He clearly understands what’s important, that he’s got his priorities in order and hopefully it stays that way.”
Misiorowski entered Friday's start averaging 100.1 mph on his fastball, the fastest ever for a starter in the pitch-tracking era. He hit 104.5 mph against the Phillies on a night when he threw at least 103 mph 13 times, including three times in the ninth inning.
Braves manager Walt Weiss discussed the challenges of facing the 6-foot-7 right-hander.
"It's big-time extension with big-time velocity, so the ball is on you,” he said. “(He) throws strikes, so you have to be aggressive. You've got to be ready to fire. It's a tough guy to have two strikes against, because he's punching people out.”
It was Misiorowski's first time facing the Braves, though he had pitched at Truist Park before. Misiorowski threw a scoreless eighth inning for the National League in last year's All-Star Game at Atlanta, making the team after just five career starts.
He was originally scheduled to oppose one of the pitchers he says he's long admired in Braves ace Chris Sale, but a rainout Thursday in Atlanta pushed Sale's start to Saturday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts while facing the Atlanta Braves during sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts after the Atlanta Braves scored two runs during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, right, delivers a pitch to Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, right, delivers a pitch to Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
