The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed Canarinho, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation, the governing body of football in Brazil. It has been a member of FIFA since 1923 and was a founding member of CONMEBOL in 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas, from 1946 to 1961.
Brazil is the most successful national team in the FIFA World Cup, winning the tournament five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. The Seleção also has the best overall performance in the World Cup competition with a record of 79 victories in 119 matches played and 135 goal difference.All-time table of the FIFA World Cup It is the only national team to have played in all World Cup editions without any absence nor need for playoffs,Brazil at the FIFA World Cup and the only team to have won the World Cup in four different continents. Brazil was the most successful team in the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, with victories in 1997, 2005, 2009, and 2013.
Many commentators, football experts, and former players regard Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning side as the greatest football team of all time. Other Brazilian squads are also highly esteemed and regularly appear listed among the best teams of all time, such as the teams of 1958–62 and of 1994–02 period. Brazil has developed many rivalries through the years, the most notable being with Argentina, Italy and Uruguay.
In FIFA's ranking system, Brazil holds the record for most Team of the Year first ranking wins with 13. It also has the highest average Elo football rating over time.
History
1914–1929: Early history Historical records indicate that Brazil's first-ever game was a 1914 match between a Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo select team and the English club Exeter City, held in the stadium of Fluminense FC. Brazil won 2–0 with goals by Oswaldo Gomes and Osman Medeiros, though it has also been claimed that the match was a 3–3 draw. In 1916, Brazil played its first matches against Chile and Uruguay.
Brazil achieved third place at the first two editions of the South American Championship—which would later become the Copa América—in 1916 and 1917. Led by the goalscoring abilities of Arthur Friedenreich, they were champions in the 1919 edition, which was held in their own country. Brazil finished third in 1920 and second in 1921. They won the 1922 championship, again on home soil, and achieved second place in 1925.
1930–1949: First World Cup appearance and title drought In 1930, Brazil played in the first FIFA World Cup, held in Uruguay. After losing to Yugoslavia and defeating Bolivia in the group stage, they were eliminated from the competition.Glanville, Brian (2005). The Story of the World Cup. London: Faber and Faber. p. 19 Four years later, Brazil lost in the first round to Spain in the all-knockout 1934 World Cup in Italy.
After finishing second at the 1937 South American Championship, Brazil reached the semi-finals at the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France. They were eliminated by eventual champions Italy, but managed to achieve third place after defeating Sweden. Brazil was the only South American team to participate in the tournament; other teams held a boycott to protest the tournament being held in Europe twice in a row. During World War II, Brazil finished third in the 1942 South American Championship and second in the 1945 edition. After the war, Brazil achieved second place at the 1946 edition, and won their third title at the 1949 edition, held in Brazil. The victory ended the team's 27-year drought without a South American title.Oliver, Guy (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness Publishing. p. 560.
1950: World Cup and the Maracanazo
After World War II caused widespread destruction in Europe, Brazil's bid to host the 1950 FIFA World Cup went unopposed. During the tournament's group stage, Brazil defeated Mexico 4–0 at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro (then the Brazilian capital), tied with Switzerland 2–2 at the Pacaembu in São Paulo, and returned to the Maracanã to defeat Yugoslavia 2–0.
Unlike World Cup tournaments before and after, this edition had a final group stage to decide the champion. At this stage, Brazil defeated Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6–1. In the last game of the final round against Uruguay at the Maracanã, Brazil needed a win or draw to achieve a World Cup victory. Uruguay defeated Brazil 2–1, winning the World Cup in a game known as the Maracanazo. The defeat led to a period of national mourning in Brazil, and marked the end of the Brazil team wearing white as their default uniform.
1951–1957: Modern uniform and the "Battle of Berne" After the disappointment of the Maracanazo, Brazil finished second at the 1953 South American Championship in Peru. At the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, Brazil debuted a new uniform designed by Aldyr Schlee. It featured yellow shirts with green details, blue shorts, and white socks, and is still used today. In Brazil's two group stage matches, they defeated Mexico 5-0 and tied with Yugoslavia 1–1. In the quarter-finals, Brazil lost 4–2 to Hungary in one of the ugliest matches in football history, known as the "Battle of Berne". Brazil did not play in the 1955 South American Championship, but finished fourth at both the 1956 and 1957 editions.
1958–1970: Pelé and the First Golden Era
During the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Brazil defeated Austria 3–0 in their first group match, then tied England 0–0. Before their third group match against the Soviet Union, coach Vicente Feola added Zito, Garrincha, and Pelé to the starting line-up. From the kick-off, Brazil applied relentless pressure; in his biography of Garrincha, Ruy Castro described the first three minutes of the match as "the greatest three minutes in the history of football". Vavá gave Brazil the lead, and they won the match 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final victory over Wales, and Brazil defeated France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil then achieved a 5–2 victory over Sweden in the final, winning their first World Cup and becoming the first nation to win a World Cup outside of its own continent. Pelé described the moment as "a nation coming of age".
Brazil competed in two South American championships held in 1959. They finished second in the first tournament and third in the second tournament. At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Brazil defeated Mexico 2–0 in their first group match, then tied 0–0 with Czechoslovakia. Pelé was injured during the second match and was unable to play for the rest of the tournament. Brazil then defeated Spain 2–1 in their final group stage match. Brazil eliminated England 3–1 in the quarterfinals, defeated Chile 4–2 in the semifinals, and secured their second consecutive World Cup title with a 3–1 win in the final against Czechoslovakia.Brazil finished second at the 1963 South American Championship in Bolivia. The 1966 World Cup in England was Brazil's worst performance in a World Cup. They defeated Bulgaria 2–0, then lost to Hungary 3–1. The tournament was remembered for its aggressively physical play. Against Portugal, several violent tackles by Portuguese defenders caused Pelé to leave the match and the tournament. Brazil lost the match 3–1 and was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1934. Afterwards, Pelé said he would not play in another World Cup. However, he ultimately returned in 1970. At the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Brazil fielded what is widely considered the best World Cup squad in history. It was led by Pelé, captain Carlos Alberto Torres, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson, and Rivellino. The team won all six of their games, starting with the group stage matches: 4–1 over Czechoslovakia, 1–0 over England (despite a famous save by Gordon Banks), and 3–2 over Romania. Brazil then won 4–2 against Peru in the quarter-finals, defeated Uruguay 3–1 in the semi-finals, and achieved a 4–1 victory over Italy in the final. Jairzinho ranked second in total goals scored in the tournament with seven and is the only player to score in every match in a World Cup; Pelé finished with four goals. Brazil became the first nation to lift the Jules Rimet trophy for the third time, which meant they were allowed to keep it. A replacement trophy was then commissioned, though it would be 24 years before Brazil won it again. The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) in 1983 and was never recovered. CBF was later awarded a replica trophy.
1971–1993: The first dry spell After the retirement of Pelé and other stars from the 1970 squad, Brazil played at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. Scoreless draws with Yugoslavia and Scotland were followed by a 3–0 win over Zaire during the first group stage, with Brazil finishing second in the group. During the second group stage, Brazil defeated East Germany 1–0 and Argentina 2–1, but lost 2–0 to the Netherlands. Brazil finished in fourth place after losing the third place game 1–0 to Poland.
Brazil finished third at the 1975 Copa América. At the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, Brazil tied Sweden 1-1, tied Spain 0-0 and defeated Austria 1–0 at the first group stage. Brazil finished second, the last time Brazil failed to win their group on the first stage. In the second group stage, Brazil defeated Peru 3–0, tied with tournament hosts Argentina 0-0, and defeated Poland 3–1. However, Argentina defeated Peru 6–0 in a match held later the same day, and thus Argentina qualified for the final in a match accused of ultimately-unproven match fixing at the expense of Brazil. Brazil subsequently beat Italy 2–1 in the third place play-off, and were the only team to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Brazil then ended at third place at the 1979 Copa América, also without a single host country.
At the 1982 World Cup, held in Spain, Brazil were the tournament favorites, and easily moved through the first group stage, with a 2–1 win against the Soviet Union, a 4–1 victory against Scotland and a 4–0 thrashing of New Zealand. In the second group stage, Brazil defeated Argentina 3–1, but a 3–2 defeat in Barcelona to Italy, in a classic World Cup match, eliminated them from the tournament in the match that they refer to as "Sarriá's Tragedy", referencing the stadium's name. The 1982 team, with a midfield of Sócrates, Zico, Falcão and Toninho Cerezo, is remembered as perhaps the greatest team never to win a World Cup.
At the 1983 Copa América, the third and final tournament without a fixed host, Brazil lost the title to Uruguay and finished runners-up.
Several players, including Sócrates and Zico, from 1982 returned to play at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Brazil, still a very good team and more disciplined defensively than four years earlier, won the three group stage matches (1–0 against Spain, 1–0 against Algeria, and 3–0 against Northern Ireland), without conceding a goal. Then Brazil defeated Poland 4–0 in the round of 16, and in the quarterfinals Brazil faced the Michel Platini-led France in a classic of Total Football. The game played to a 1–1 draw in regulation time where Zico missed a penalty kick, and after a goalless extra time, it all came down to a penalty shoot-out, where Brazil was defeated 4–3.
Brazil finished fifth place at the 1987 Copa América held in Argentina, and in 1989, Brazil hosted and won the 1989 Copa América, thus ending Brazil's 19-year streak without an official title.