Overview
- Airport fire crews formed a traditional water-salute arch for Brazil’s charter plane at Galeão Airport in Rio de Janeiro on June 2 before it departed for Newark, New Jersey.
- The team boarded a customised Boeing 767-300ER branded for the CBF and arrived in the United States to continue training and play warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup.
- Airport officials carried out the ceremony with authorization from the Brazilian Football Confederation and the water salute is an aviation ritual used to mark important flights and wish crews safe passage.
- Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed Neymar has a Grade 2 calf strain and faces a two- to three-week recovery window that could sideline him for the June 6 friendly in Cleveland and Brazil’s Group C opener on June 13 at MetLife Stadium.
- Brazil enter Group C with Morocco, Scotland and Haiti and will rely on coach Carlo Ancelotti to adjust tactics and squad selection if Neymar is unavailable, which could change match plans and player roles early in the tournament.