Brazil
Appearances at World Cups
Brazil is the only national team that participated in the final stage of all world cups. It not only participated but won five of them. The period between 1958 and 1970 was especially successful when Brazil became the owner of the title three times. The fourth place at home in 2014 has been the best achievement of the Brazilians at the last three WC when they lost to the Germans in a semi-final with shameful 1-7.
Tite's players are going to Russia as undoubted favourites. In the qualification for the World Cup, the Brazilians didn't leave any chance to their opponents by earning 41 points and scoring the same number of balls in 18 matches. Brazil became the first country to ensure its participation in the WC but didn't stop playing to the full after it. Chile that lost in the last round to five-time champions who didn't seem motivated isn't playing at the WC mainly due to the tenacity of Brazil.
year | g | w | d | l | М | total |
1930 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5-2 | 2 nd in group |
1934 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-3 | 1/8 |
1938 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14-11 | 3 |
1950 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22-6 | 2 |
1954 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8-5 | 1/4 |
1958 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16-4 | 1 |
1962 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14-5 | 1 |
1966 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4-6 | 3rd in group |
1970 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19-7 | 1 |
1974 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6-4 | 4 |
1978 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10-3 | 3 |
1982 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15-6 | 2nd round, 2nd place |
1986 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10-1 | 1/4 |
1990 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4-2 | 1/8 |
1994 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11-3 | 1 |
1998 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14-10 | 2 |
2002 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18-4 | 1 |
2006 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10-2 | 1/4 |
2010 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9-4 | 1/4 |
2014 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11-14 | 4 |
Total | 61 | 41 | 9 | 11 | 221-102 | - |
Head coach and best player
The mentor of the national team of Brazil isn't a very famous specialist among fans. Tite has worked at South American clubs during all his career. This is why his name didn't sound often in the European press. However, this doesn't mean he didn't deserve the right to chair the national team of his country. Before working with the national squad, he made his teams champions. And once he won the Club World Championships with Corinthians by winning Chelsea from London in the final. Flexibility is Tite's main skill as a coach, while many renowned coaches could envy his methods of working with stars. For instance, 13 people became captains of the national team of Brazil during the qualification – so that none of the stars will feel deprived.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior will, undoubtedly, become the main star of the national team of Brazil and one of the main figures of the whole WC. PSG forward was injured in early March and has rarely appeared with his club's T-shirt on the pitch. However, there aren't doubts Neymar will have the time to recover by the WC. So it will be possible to see the ten players of the national team of Brazil pulling their team to the first WC gold in the last 16 years on Russian pitches. Marcelo, Gabriel Jesus, Coutinho and some other stars of the Seleção will help Neymar.
- Preliminary squad: Alisson – Daniel Alves, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Marcelo – Casemiro, Paulinho, Coutinho – Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar.
Base camp and cities
Brazil has the group that it won't cope with only in the most fantastical development of events. Only flights from Sochi, where the camp base of the five-time champions will be, to the games of the second and third rounds against Costa Rica and Serbia to Moscow and Saint Petersburg can impede its successful performance. Tite's players will open the tournament with a match against Switzerland, which will be in Rostov-on-Don.