India, July 6 -- Neymar brought the curtain down on his Brazil career after the Selecao's World Cup campaign ended in a painful 2-1 defeat to Norway in the round of 16, marking another heartbreaking exit for one of the country's most gifted but most debated footballers.

The 34-year-old, who had long carried Brazil's hopes of a sixth World Cup title, was emotional after the match and suggested that his journey with the national team had reached its end. Speaking to geTV after the defeat, Neymar said: "I tried, I tried. Now it's over. I started here, I closed it here."

The reference was to the MetLife Stadium, the venue where Neymar had made his senior Brazil debut in 2010 against the United States. Sixteen years later, at the same stadiu...