MADRID, 17 years old (PRESS EUROPE)
The Brazilian squad, five times world champions, are looking to emulate, 20 years later, the champions of Korea and Japan in 2002 in Qatar, where, led by Neymar and equipped with gunpowder in attack, they hope to top Group G as before and advance in the qualifying rounds to confirm themselves as one of the big favorites of the event.
Two decades have passed since Cafú raised the Jules Rimet Cup to the sky of Yokohama, and now, also in Asian territory, the yellow-green team hopes to break the drought to consolidate itself as the country with the most titles in the history of the World Cup and, incidentally, remove the bitterness from the mouth of the defeat in the final of the last Copa América.
Five gimped (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002) adorn their boards, one more than the German and Italian, although since 2002 they have failed to repeat the final. In 2006 and 2010 they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, as in Russia 2018 -where Belgium stopped progressing-; in 2014, at home, Germany ended their semifinal aspirations with ‘Mineirazo’, which plunged Brazilian fans into a new depression six decades after ‘Maracanazo’ (1-7).
Now, Tite’s men come to the event wearing the FIFA-ranked first-team armband and having completed a near-immaculate South American qualification, with 14 wins, three draws, 40 goals scored and just five conceded, which allowed them to finish first in the group.ranking. In Group G, alongside Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon, they will be looking to finish top, which they have always achieved since 1978.
Like four years ago, Neymar will lead the ‘canarinha’ in search of the sixth star. The Paris Saint-Germain star, whose injuries have prevented him from showing his best level in recent years, has amassed six goals in ten games in his previous two World Cups and is hoping to give the definitive jump in the third which will place him equal to stars like Pelé, Garrincha, Ronaldo or Ronaldinho, all with at least one World Cup. He arrives in Qatar with 75 goals, two short of ‘O Rei’s record, which he hopes to surpass.
With notable absences such as the injured Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino or the athletic Matheus Cunha, up to 16 footballers will make their debut as World Cup players in Qatar. This is the case of Real Madrid players Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo Goes or Barcelona player Raphinha, three of the nine strikers with whom Tite participates in the tournament along with Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Richarlison (Tottenham) , Antony (Manchester United), Pedro (Flamengo) or Neymar.
All in a slightly unbalanced team due to lack of full-backs, where Alex Telles from Sevilla and Alex Sandro and Danilo from Juventus joined the veteran Dani Alves, who at 39 will try to win the last of the ‘stickers’ that missing in his already vast palmares.
PSG footballer Thiago Silva, who is facing his fourth World Cup, will also command a defense which will also include Real Madrid player Éder Militao, Marquinhos (PSG) and Bremer (Juventus), covering for Alisson (Liverpool), who has won the match Ederson (Manchester City) and Weverton (Palmeiras) under the sticks.
Casemiro, now with the ‘red devils’ after winning everything with Real Madrid, Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Fred (Manchester United), Lucas Paquetá (West Ham), Fabinho (Liverpool) and Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo) offer guarantees to center of the pitch to try and pave the way for glory, which would crown them as six-time champions.
VINÍCIUS, A FIRST FOR CONFIRMATION
The Real Madrid striker, at the age of 22, will have his first experience in the World Cup with the hope of crowning a historic year in which he has already been proclaimed champion of the Liga Santander and of the Champions League, a competition in which he also won Paris the goal that gave the fourteenth Champions Cup to the Juventus team.
Since his breakthrough in the 2021-22 season, the man from Sao Gonçalo has earned a place in the ‘canarinha’ attack, where only Neymar has a guaranteed place. Dressed in yellow, however, he has only scored one goal, in this year’s victory against Chile, which he will try to make up for in the World Cup.
With the confirmation of being the top scorer of his team, in front of a full ballon d’or like Karim Benzema, he arrives in the Asian country with the desire to take advantage of the opportunity and, who knows, to lift the long-awaited gold trophy as well December 18 at the Lusail National Stadium.
TITE, BEFORE HIS LAST CHANCE
At 61, Adenor Leonardo Bacchi ‘Tite’ will face a World Cup for the second time in charge of Brazil in what will be his last major event. The one from Caxias do Sul announced at the beginning of the year that after Qatar he will leave the helm of the ‘canarinha’, and he hopes to do it in a big way, with the World Cup in hand.
Coach since 2016, taking over from Dunga, Tite fell in the quarterfinals of Russia 2018, but only managed to make up for it a year later by leading his team to conquer the 2019 Copa América. In 2021, luck escaped him once again in Maracana , where Argentina snatched the continental tournament from them on home soil.
The squad’s trajectory in South American qualifying invites optimism, and they will now have to manage an ambitious dressing room that serves to dispel the squad’s recent failures in past World Cup editions.
DATA SHEET.
-World Cup participations: 22 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2010, 2010, 2010 and 2010 ).
– Titles: Five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002).
-Palmarés: five World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), nine America’s Cups (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2019) and four Confederations Cups (1997, 2005, 2009) and 2013).
-How it was classified: first of the South American qualifiers.
– First phase calendar:
24/11 22.00 Lusail Brazil – Serbia.
28/11 19.00 Doha Brazil – Switzerland.
02/12 22.00 Lusail Cameroon – Brazil.
