The Brazil national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Brasileira) represents Brazil in international men's football. Brazil is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) since 1923 and member of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) since 1916.
Brazil is the most successful national football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup, with five championships: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. They are also the most successful team in the FIFA Confederations Cup with four titles. Brazil are the current holders of the FIFA Confederations Cup after winning the 1997, 2005, 2009, and 2013 edition of the tournament. Brazil is the only national team to have played in all FIFA World Cup editions without having any absence. Brazil have also qualified for every FIFA World Cup without the need for playoffs. Brazil national football team has the all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in the world with 2012.9, and the second all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2153 in 1962, only behind the Hungarian Golden Team
of 1954. Brazil won a total of 72 official international titles to
professional and grassroots level selections, being a world record. Its
achievements have led CONMEBOL to consider it as The most glorious and successful of all national teams from South America and the World.
Many distinguished commentators consider the Brazil team of 1970 to
be the greatest association football team ever, although some argue the
case for other teams, such as the Brazil team of 1958 and 1962.
The national team are currently ranked number 1 in the World Football Elo Ratings and 3 in the FIFA World Ranking. Brazil is the only team to have won the world cup in 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 also share with Spain a record of 35 consecutive official matches undefeated.
Brazil are the hosts of the 2014 World Cup and therefore automatically qualified for the tournament
Early history (1914–1957)
It is generally believed that the Brazil national football team's first game was a 1914 match between a Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo select team and the English club Exeter City, held in Fluminense's stadium. Brazil won 2–0 with goals by Oswaldo Gomes and Osman, whilst others claim a 3–3 draw. contrast to its future success, the national team's early appearances were far from brilliant, partly due to an internal strife within Brazilian football associations over professionalism, which rendered the Brazilian Football Confederation unable to field full-strength teams. |
| Brazil's first match at home against Brazil's first match at home against |
The Golden Era with Pelé (1958–1970)
Brazil's head Vicente Feola, imposed strict rules on the squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, held in Sweden. The players were given a list of forty things that they were not allowed to do, including wearing hats or umbrellas, smoking while wearing official uniforms and talking to the press outside of allocated times. They were the only team to bring a psychologist to the training camp (because the memories of 1950 still affected some players) or a dentist (for, because of their humble origins, many players had dental problems, which caused them infections and also had negative impact on performance), and had sent a scout to Europe to watch the qualifying matches a year before the tournament had begun.
Brazil were drawn in the toughest group, with England, the USSR and Austria.
They beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England.
The Brazilians had been worried about their match with the USSR, who
had exceptional fitness and were one of the favourites to win the
tournament; their strategy was to take risks at the beginning of the
match to try to score an early goal. Before the match, the leaders of
the team, Bellini, Nílton Santos, and Didi, spoke to coach Vicente Feola and persuaded him to make three substitutions which were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets and win the Cup: Zito, Garrincha and greatest footballer of all time, Pelé,
would start playing against the USSR. From the kick off, they passed
the ball to Garrincha who beat three players before hitting the post
with a shot. They kept up the pressure relentlessly, and after three
minutes, which were later described as "the greatest three minutes in
the history of football", Vavá gave Brazil the lead. They won the match by 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final match against Wales, and they beat France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil beat the host Sweden,
in the final by 5–2, winning their first World Cup and becoming the
first nation to win a World Cup title outside of its own continent. A
celebrated fact was that Feola would sometimes take naps during training
sessions and would sometimes close his eyes during matches, giving the
impression that he was asleep. Because of this, Didi was sometimes said
to be the real coach of the team, as he commanded the midfield.In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Brazil earned its second title with Garrincha as the star player, a mantle and responsibility upon him after the regular talisman, Pelé, was injured during the second group match against Czechoslovakia and unable to play for the rest of the tournament.
In the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the preparation of the team was affected by political influences. All the major Brazilian clubs wanted their players included in the Brazilian team, to give them more exposure. In the final months of preparation to the World Cup, the coach Vicente Feola was working with 46 players, of which only 22 would go to England; this caused lots of internal dispute and psychological pressure on the players and managing staff. The result was that, in 1966, Brazil had their worst performance in all World Cups. Another perhaps bigger issue was that Pelé, who possibly had been at the height of his career at this stage, was chopped off at seemingly every opportunity in the group matches.The 1966 tournament was remembered for its excessive physical play, and Pelé was one of the players affected by such play. After becoming the first player ever to score in three World Cups, with a direct free kick against Bulgaria, he had to rest, due to fatigue, for the match against Hungary, which Brazil lost. He then faced Portugal, and several violent tackles by the Portuguese defenders caused him to leave the match and the tournament. Brazil lost that match and were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1934. After the tournament, Pelé declared that he did not wish to play in the World Cup again.
Brazil won its third World Cup in Mexico in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Brazil fielded what has since then often (but not always) been considered the best association football squad ever, led by Pelé in his last World Cup final, captain Carlos Alberto Torres, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson and Rivelino. After winning the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time, Brazil was allowed to keep it for good.
Brazil's results in 1970 were as follows:
| Group 3 |
|---|
| Brazil 4–1 Czechoslovakia |
| Brazil 1–0 England |
| Brazil 3–2 Romania |
| Quarterfinals |
| Brazil 4–2 Peru |
| Semifinals |
| Brazil 3–1 Uruguay |
| Final |
| Brazil 4–1 Italy |
The dry spell (1970–1994)
After the international retirement of Pelé and other stars from the 1970 squad, Brazil were not able to overcome Netherlands' Total Football in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The generation of 1974 could not defend their title, finishing in fourth place, after failing to achieve victory against a strong Polish side.
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| The 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning Brazil team. |
In the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the tournament favorites Brazil easily moved through the early part of the draw, but a 3–2 defeat to Italy, in one of the classic games in finals history, eliminated them from the tournament. Paolo Rossi scored all three of Italy's goals. The Seleção was defeated in the match they still refer to as the "Sarriá's Disaster", a reference to the stadium's name, and manager Telê would be much blamed by the Brazilian media for using an attacking system while a 2–2 draw was enough. The 1982 team, with players like Sócrates, Zico, Falcão and Éder, is best remembered as one of the greatest teams never to win a World Cup.
Telê Santana and several players of 1982 returned to play in the 1986 World Cup hosted by Mexico. The players of 1986 were older but still capable of an enchanting performance. They were troubled, however, by an injury Zico picked up before the World Cup. Incessant questions about whether and when he could play undoubtedly had some negative effect on the team. Brazil met France in the quarter-finals and the match is considered an absolute classic of "total football". Neither side deserved to lose but when Zico finally came on in the second half (with the score 1–1), and Brazil were awarded a penalty late in the game, Brazil seemed set to win. But Zico, the hero of a whole generation of Brazilian football fans, missed the penalty – and after a goalless but thoroughly exciting extra time it all came down to a penalty shoot out. There Zico managed to score from his penalty but Júlio César da Silva and Sócrates missed the goal in their turn, and despite French captain Michel Platini sending his effort over the cross bar, Brazil nevertheless were eliminated 4–3.
In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Brazil was coached by Sebastião Lazaroni, who was hardly known before the Cup. With a defensive scheme, whose main symbol was mid-fielder Dunga, and three full-backs, the team lacked creativity but made it to the second round. Against a weaker Argentine side, the Brazilians applied heavy pressure and had numerous chances to score, but it was Claudio Caniggia who managed to find Brazil's net and eliminate them after a brilliant assist from Maradona.
Return to winning ways (1994–2002)
1994 World Cup
Brazil, to the surprise of many, went 24 years without winning a World Cup or even participating in a final. Their struggles ended at the 1994 tournament in the United States, where a solid, if unspectacular side headed by the likes of Romário, Bebeto, Dunga, Taffarel, and Jorginho won the World Cup for a then-record 4th time. Highlights of their campaign included a 1–0 victory over the host in the round of 16, a sensational 3–2 win over the Dutch in the quarter-finals (often cited as the game of the tournament) and a 1–0 win over the Swedes in the semis. This set up a classic confrontation, Brazil vs. Italy, in the final. After a dour and unexciting 0–0 draw, penalty kicks loomed, and when Roberto Baggio lifted his spot kick over the crossbar, Brazil were champions once again. A new era of dominance had begun.1998 World Cup
Entering the tournament as defending champions, Brazil finished runner-up in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After a very respectable campaign during which they beat Netherlands on penalties in the semi-final following a 1–1 draw with goals from Ronaldo and Patrick Kluivert, the team lost to host France 3–0 in a final game. Brazilian marking at defensive set pieces was poor, and Zinédine Zidane was able to score two headed goals from France's corner kicks. Also, Brazilian star Ronaldo suffered an epileptic seizure a few hours before the match. Many criticized the decision to reinstate Ronaldo into the starting lineup as he put on a poor performance another reason that had been given for Brazil's poor performance was lack of preparation. Brazil had not played in the playoffs and the selection of the 22 players who were going to France was made based on friendly matches without real competition. In addition, the injury to Romario, Ronaldo's preferred starting partner, prior to the tournament may have also played a key factor.2002 World Cup
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| Brazilian national football airplane in 2002 |
The groupings appeared at first glance to favor the Brazilian team; their adversaries would be Turkey, China and Costa Rica. In the end, a stronger than expected Turkey finished the tournament in third place. Brazil went on to beat all three opponents, scoring 11 goals and conceding only three, and topping the group. In Brazil's opening game against Turkey, Rivaldo fell to the ground clutching his face after Turkey's Hakan Ünsal had kicked the ball at his legs. Hakan Ünsal, who had already been booked, was sent off while Rivaldo jumped to his feet and continued playing. Rivaldo escaped suspension but was fined £5,180 for play-acting. He became the first player ever to be punished in FIFA's crackdown on "simulation" and "diving." They followed with a 4–0 win over China and a 5–2 win over Costa Rica.
Next, Brazil defeated Belgium 2–0, in the round-of-16. Against England in the quarter finals, Brazil won 2–1. Ronaldinho scored the winner with a free kick and also assisted teammate Rivaldo for their first goal, but was sent off for stamping on the right ankle of England's Danny Mills. The semifinal was against Turkey, which Brazil had faced in their group. Again, this match was difficult, as Brazil won 1–0 with a goal by Ronaldo. Rivaldo had scored one goal in all five games up to this one but did not manage to hit the target in the sixth. He had seemed all set to repeat Jairzinho´s great achievement in 1970 when he scored in every game of the World Cup.
The final was between two of the most successful teams in the competition's history: Germany and Brazil. Incredibly, the teams had never played each other in the World Cup before, besides a match between Brazil and East Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had been the tournament's best keeper, but was not able to maintain his post unscathed in this match, as Ronaldo vanquished his France '98 demons by scoring both goals in the Brazilian 2–0 triumph. Ronaldo also won the Golden Shoe as the tournament's leading scorer, though Kahn won the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player.
Parreira returns (2002–2006)
On June 29, 2005, Brazil won the Confederations Cup for the second time with an emphatic 4–1 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in Frankfurt, Germany. They also won another championship, the 2004 Copa América in which Brazil defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout.2006 World Cup
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| Brazil against Japan at the 2006 FIFA World Cup at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany. |
During the buildup to the tournament, star striker Ronaldo was suffering with several issues, most notably his fitness. After a 2 month injury layoff earlier in the season, the Real Madrid forward had gained a noticeable amount of weight, and was not as sharp and quick as the Ronaldo of the last decade. He also suffered from blisters on his feet and a fever during training.
Despite winning the first 2 games against Croatia (1–0) and Australia (2–0), the "Magic Square" did not show anything close to the flair and imagination that it had promised. Despite the reputation of the four attacking players, Brazil were struggling to break down their opponents and create chances, and only two of the forwards had found themselves on the scoresheet, Kaka & Adriano. In the final group game against Japan, Parreira made several changes, dropping several experienced players and bringing in relative youngsters, including Robinho, and Cicinho, and dropped the 'Magic Square' in favour of a more balanced formation. The changes were successful, as Brazil strolled to a comfortable 4–1 win against Japan, Ronaldo seemed to be finding his fitness and form, scoring twice and equaling the record for most goals scored in the World Cup.
In the last 16, Brazil beat Ghana 3–0, with the 'Magic Square' restored, Ronaldo and Adriano both found themselves on the scoresheet. Ronaldo's goal was his 15th in World Cup history, a record that to this day remains intact, and is unlikely to be broken. However, despite Ronaldo's landmark and the comfortable scoreline, it was another unconvincing performance. Despite Perreira reverting once again to a more balanced formation, with Ronaldo the lone striker, supported by Kaka and Ronaldinho, Brazil were eliminated in the quarter finals against France, losing 1-0 to a Thierry Henry goal in the second half. Led by a rejuvenated Zinédine Zidane and safeguarded by a resolute defence, France were barely threatened by Brazil, despite Ronaldo's best efforts, the strikers 2nd half effort was the only shot on target that Brazil managed. The game was also notable for being the first time that the Brazil team had been shut out in 3 consecutive matches against France, now has a 2–1–1 all-time record in 1986, 1998 and 2006 in World Cup matches.
After their early elimination, the defeated world champions were harshly criticized by the press and the fans. The media circulated images of the left wingback Roberto Carlos tying his shoes while Thierry Henry ran unmarked to score the winning goal. Pelé blamed Parreira and the under performing Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.
2010 FIFA World Cup
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| The Brazilian and Chilean teams in 2010. |
FIFA World Cup
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| In FIFA World Cup 2014 before opening match with Croatia |
| FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D * | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
 1930 |
Round 1 | 6th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
 1934 |
Round 1 | 14th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
 1938 |
Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
 1950 |
Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 6 | Qualified as hosts | ||||||
 1954 |
Quarter-Finals | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
 1958 |
Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
 1962 |
Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | Qualified as defending champions | ||||||
 1966 |
Group Stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Qualified as defending champions | ||||||
 1970 |
Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
 1974 |
Fourth Place | 4th | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | Qualified as defending champions | ||||||
 1978 |
Third Place | 3rd | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
 1982 |
Round 2 | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
| 1986 |
Quarter-Finals | 5th | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
 1990 |
Round of 16 | 9th | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
 1994 |
Champions | 1st | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 4 | |
| 1998 |
Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | Qualified as defending champions | ||||||
  2002 |
Champions | 1st | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 31 | 17 | |
| 2006 |
Quarter-Finals | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 35 | 17 | |
 2010 |
6th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 11 | ||
 2014 |
Running | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | Qualified as hosts | |||||||
 2018 |
To Be Determined | - | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
 2022 |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Total | 5 titles | 20/20 | 97 | 67 | 15 | 15 | 210 | 88 | 92 | 56 | 25 | 11 | 199 | 59 | |
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| Pelé is the top scorer in the history of Brazil with 77 goals. |
| # | Name | Goals | Caps | Average | First cap | Latest cap | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelé | 77 | 92 | 0.84 | July 7, 1957 | July 18, 1971 | FW |
| 2 | Zico | 66 | 88 | 0.75 | February 25, 1976 | June 21, 1986 | MF |
| 3 | Ronaldo | 62 | 98 | 0.63 | March 23, 1994 | June 7, 2011 | FW |
| 4 | Romário | 55 | 70 | 0.79 | May 23, 1987 | April 27, 2005 | FW |
| 5 | Bebeto | 39 | 75 | 0.52 | April 28, 1985 | July 12, 1998 | FW |
| 6 | Rivaldo | 34 | 74 | 0.46 | December 16, 1993 | November 19, 2003 | MF |
| 7 | Jairzinho | 33 | 81 | 0.40 | June 7, 1964 | March 3, 1982 | MF |
| Ronaldinho | 33 | 98 | 0.33 | June 26, 1999 | April 24, 2013 | MF | |
| Neymar | 33 | 51 | 0.66 | August 10, 2010 | June 17, 2014 | FW | |
| 10 | Tostão | 32 | 54 | 0.59 | May 15, 1966 | July 9, 1972 | FW |
| Ademir | 32 | 39 | 0.82 | January 21, 1945 | March 15, 1953 | FW |
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