Brazil national football team
WORLD RANKING: 3
GOVERNING BODY:-
Brazilian Football Confederation (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, CBF)
CAPTAIN:-
Thiago Silva
COACH:-
Tite
MOST CAPPED PLAYER:-
Cafu (142 caps)
TOP SCORER:-
Pele (77 goals)
STAR PLAYERS:-
Neymar, Alisson, Thiago Silva, Roberto Firmino, Vinicius Junior, Philippe Coutinho
NICKNAMES:-
Seleção (The National Team), Canarinho (Little Canary), Verde-Amarela (The Green and Yellow), Esquadrão de Ouro (The Golden Squad)
RIVALS:-
Argentina
Uruguay
Italy
France
Portugal
Netherlands
WORLD CUP:-
Appearances: 21
Best Result: Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
COPA AMERICA:-
Appearances: 36
Best Result: Champions (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2019)
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in men’s international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil.
They have been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a member of CONMEBOL since 1916.
Brazil is the most successful national team in the FIFA World Cup, being crowned winner five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.
The Seleção also has the best overall performance in the World Cup competition, both in proportional and absolute terms, with a record of 73 victories in 109 matches played, 124 goal difference, 237 points, and 18 losses.
Brazil is the only national team to have played in all World Cup editions without any absence nor need for playoffs.
In relation to ranking standings, Brazil fare well, having the highest average football Elo rating since 1970, and the fourth all-time peak football Elo Rating established in 1962.
In FIFA’s ranking system Brazil holds the record for most Team of the Year wins with 12.
Many commentators, experts and former players have considered the Brazil team of 1970 to be the greatest football team ever.
Other Brazilian teams are also highly estimated and regularly appear listed among the best teams of all time, such as the Brazil teams of 1958–62, with honorary mentions for the gifted 1982 side.
Brazil is the only national team to have won the World Cup on four different continents: once in Europe (1958 Sweden), once in South America (1962 Chile), twice in North America (1970 Mexico and 1994 United States) and once in Asia (2002 Korea/Japan).
They share with France and Argentina the feat of winning the three most important men’s football titles overseen by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament.
They also share with Spain a record of 35 consecutive matches undefeated.
Brazil has many rivals due to its successes, with notable rivalries with Argentina – known as the Superclássico das Américas in Portuguese, Italy – known as the Clásico Mundial in Spanish or the World Derby in English, Uruguay due to the traumatic Maracanazo, France due to the fact that they usually have difficulties against France in World Cups, the Netherlands due to several important meetings between the two teams at World Cups, and the style of play of the two teams being considered similar, and Portugal due to shared cultural traits and heritage, as well as a large number of Brazilian-born players in Portugal.
Brazil has also produced players considered as the best of the world at their time and among the best in history, such are the cases of Pelé (widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time), Didi, Nilton Santos, Djalma Santos, Garrincha, Rivellino, Tostão, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto, Sócrates, Zico, Falcão, Romário, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká, Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, Marcelo and Neymar.
A common quip about football is: “Os ingleses o inventaram, os brasileiros o aperfeiçoaram” (The English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it).
Football in Brazil
Association football is the most popular sport in Brazil and a prominent part of its national identity. The Brazil national football team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament five times, the most of any team, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.
Brazil and Germany are the only teams to succeed in qualifying for all the World Cups for which they entered the qualifiers; Brazil is the only team to participate in every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favourites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled.
After Brazil won its third World Cup in 1970, they were awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. Brazil has also won an Olympic Gold Medal, at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro.
Pelé, statistically the most successful footballer ever, led Brazil to two of those championships and won it three times (he was injured during most of the 1962 World Cup).
All of the leading players in the national teams are prominent in the football world, including Garrincha, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká and Neymar in the men’s game, and Marta in the women’s game.
Some of these players can be considered super-stars, achieving celebrity status internationally and signing sports contracts, as well as advertisement and endorsement contracts, in the value of millions of euros.
The governing body of football in Brazil is the Brazilian Football Confederation.