Brazil at the FIFA World Cup

Summary

This article summarizes the results and overall performance of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup, including the qualification phase and the final phase, officially called the World Cup finals. The qualification phase, which currently takes place over the three years preceding the finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the finals. The current format of the finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Final is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated over 1 billion people watching the 2014 tournament final.[1]

Pelé celebrating winning the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico

Brazil is the most successful national team in the history of the World Cup, having won five titles, earning second place, third place and fourth place finishes twice each. Brazil is one of the countries besides Argentina, Spain and Germany to win a FIFA World Cup away from its continent and the only one to do it in four different continents. (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970, United States 1994 and South Korea/Japan 2002). Brazil is the only national team to have played in all FIFA World Cup editions without any absence or need for playoffs. In 22 World Cup tournaments, Brazil had 76 victories out of 114 matches. Brazil also has the best overall performance in World Cup history in both proportional and absolute terms with a record of 76 victories in 114 matches played, 129 goal difference, 247 points and only 19 losses.[2][3]

Traditionally, Brazil's greatest rival is Argentina. The two countries have met each other four times in the history of the FIFA World Cup, with two wins for Brazil (West Germany 1974 and Spain 1982), one for Argentina (Italy 1990) and a draw (Argentina 1978). The country that played most against Brazil in the finals is Sweden: 7 times, with five wins for Brazil and two draws. Three other historical rivals are Italy, which lost two World Cup finals against Brazil and eliminated the Brazilians in two tournaments (France 1938 and Spain 1982), France, which has defeated Brazil on three occasions (Mexico 1986, France 1998 and Germany 2006), and the Netherlands, which has eliminated Brazil at two of their five meetings (West Germany 1974 and South Africa 2010) and won the third place match in Brazil 2014.

Brazil won their first world cup final in 1958, 28 years after the first competition was held in 1930. The second longest streak before winning their fourth world cup title in 1994 came 24 years after winning their third title in 1970. Since earning their fifth world cup final and title in 2002, it has currently been 21 years since Brazil has reached and won another world cup final. By 2026, it will have been 24 years since Brazil has last won the title, the same duration between the third and the fourth title.

Records edit

Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1930 Group stage 6th 2 1 0 1 5 2
  1934 Round of 16 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
  1954 Quarter-finals 5th 3 1 1 1 8 5
  1958 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 16 4
  1962 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 14 5
  1966 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 4 6
  1970 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 19 7
  1974 Fourth place 4th 7 3 2 2 6 4
  1978 Third Place 3rd 7 4 3 0 10 3
  1982 Second group stage 5th 5 4 0 1 15 6
  1986 Quarter-finals 5th 5 4 1 0 10 1
  1990 Round of 16 9th 4 3 0 1 4 2
  1994 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 11 3
  1998 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 1 2 14 10
    2002 Champions 1st 7 7 0 0 18 4
  2006 Quarter-finals 5th 5 4 0 1 10 2
  2010 Quarter-finals 6th 5 3 1 1 9 4
  2014 Fourth place 4th 7 3 2 2 11 14
  2018 Quarter-finals 6th 5 3 1 1 8 3
  2022 Quarter-finals 7th 5 3 1 1 8 3
      2026 To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total 22/22 5 Titles 114 76 19 19 237 108

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Winning World Cups edit

Year Manager Captain Goalscorer(s) in Final
1958 Vicente Feola Bellini Vavá (2), Pelé (2), Zagallo
1962 Aymoré Moreira Mauro Ramos Amarildo, Zito, Vavá
1970 Mário Zagallo Carlos Alberto Torres Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto Torres
1994 Carlos Alberto Parreira Dunga N/A
2002 Luiz Felipe Scolari Cafu Ronaldo (2)

By match edit

Year Round Opponents Score Brazil scorers
1930 Group B   Yugoslavia 1–2 Preguinho
  Bolivia 4–0 Moderato (2), Preguinho (2)
1934 Round of 16   Spain 1–3 Leônidas
1938 Round of 16   Poland 6–5 (a.e.t.) Leônidas (3), Romeu, Perácio (2)
Quarter-finals   Czechoslovakia 1–1 (a.e.t.) Leônidas
Quarter-finals (replay)   Czechoslovakia 2–1 Leônidas, Roberto
Semi-finals   Italy 1–2 Romeu
Third place play-off   Sweden 4–2 Romeu, Leônidas (2), Perácio
1950 Group A   Mexico 4–0 Ademir (2), Jair, Baltazar
   Switzerland 2–2 Alfredo, Baltazar
  Yugoslavia 2–0 Ademir, Zizinho
Final round   Sweden 7–1 Ademir (4), Chico (2), Maneca
Final round   Spain 6–1 Ademir (2), Jair, Chico (2), Zizinho
Final round   Uruguay 1–2 Friaça
1954 Group A   Mexico 5–0 Baltazar, Didi, Pinga (2), Julinho
  Yugoslavia 1–1 (a.e.t.) Didi
Quarter-finals   Hungary 2–4 Djalma Santos, Julinho
1958 Group D   Austria 3–0 Mazzola (2), Nilton Santos
  England 0–0
  Soviet Union 2–0 Vavá (2)
Quarter-finals   Wales 1–0 Pelé
Semi-finals   France 5–2 Vavá, Didi, Pelé (3)
Final   Sweden 5–2 Vavá (2), Pelé (2), Zagallo
1962 Group C   Mexico 2–0 Pelé, Zagallo
  Czechoslovakia 0–0
  Spain 2–1 Amarildo (2)
Quarter-finals   England 3–1 Garrincha (2), Vavá
Semi-finals   Chile 4–2 Garrincha (2), Vavá (2)
Final   Czechoslovakia 3–1 Amarildo, Zito, Vavá
1966 Group C   Bulgaria 2–0 Pelé, Garrincha
  Hungary 1–3 Tostão
  Portugal 1–3 Rildo
1970 Group C   Czechoslovakia 4–1 Rivelino, Pelé, Jairzinho (2)
  England 1–0 Jairzinho
  Romania 3–2 Pelé (2), Jairzinho
Quarter-finals   Peru 4–2 Rivelino, Tostão (2), Jairzinho
Semi-finals   Uruguay 3–1 Clodoaldo, Jairzinho, Rivelino
Final   Italy 4–1 Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto
1974 Group 2   Yugoslavia 0–0
  Scotland 0–0
  Zaire 3–0 Jairzinho, Rivelino, Valdomiro
Group A   East Germany 1–0 Rivelino
  Argentina 2–1 Rivelino, Jairzinho
  Netherlands 0–2
Third place play-off   Poland 0–1
1978 Group 3   Sweden 1–1 Reinaldo
  Spain 0–0
  Austria 1–0 Roberto Dinamite
Group B   Peru 3–0 Dirceu (2), Zico
  Argentina 0–0
  Poland 3–1 Nelinho, Roberto Dinamite (2)
Third place play-off   Italy 2–1 Nelinho, Dirceu
1982 Group 6   Soviet Union 2–1 Sócrates, Éder
  Scotland 4–1 Zico, Oscar, Éder, Falcão
  New Zealand 4–0 Zico (2), Falcão, Serginho
Group C   Argentina 3–1 Zico, Serginho, Júnior
  Italy 2–3 Sócrates, Falcão
1986 Group D   Spain 1–0 Sócrates
  Algeria 1–0 Careca
  Northern Ireland 3–0 Careca (2), Josimar
Round of 16   Poland 4–0 Sócrates, Josimar, Edinho, Careca
Quarter-finals   France 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–4 p)
Careca
1990 Group C   Sweden 2–1 Careca (2)
  Costa Rica 1–0 Müller
  Scotland 1–0 Müller
Round of 16   Argentina 0–1
1994 Group B   Russia 2–0 Romário, Raí
  Cameroon 3–0 Romário, Márcio Santos, Bebeto
  Sweden 1–1 Romário
Round of 16   United States 1–0 Bebeto
Quarter-finals   Netherlands 3–2 Romário, Bebeto, Branco
Semi-finals   Sweden 1–0 Romário
Final   Italy 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)
1998 Group A   Scotland 2–1 César Sampaio, Boyd (OG)
  Morocco 3–0 Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bebeto
  Norway 1–2 Bebeto
Round of 16   Chile 4–1 Ronaldo (2), César Sampaio (2)
Quarter-finals   Denmark 3–2 Bebeto, Rivaldo (2)
Semi-finals   Netherlands 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Ronaldo
Final   France 0–3
2002 Group C   Turkey 2–1 Ronaldo, Rivaldo
  China 4–0 Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo
  Costa Rica 5–2 Ronaldo (2), Edmílson, Rivaldo, Júnior
Round of 16   Belgium 2–0 Rivaldo, Ronaldo
Quarter-finals   England 2–1 Rivaldo, Ronaldinho
Semi-finals   Turkey 1–0 Ronaldo
Final   Germany 2–0 Ronaldo (2)
2006 Group F   Croatia 1–0 Kaká
  Australia 2–0 Adriano, Fred
  Japan 4–1 Ronaldo (2), Juninho, Gilberto
Round of 16   Ghana 3–0 Adriano, Ronaldo, Zé Roberto
Quarter-finals   France 0–1
2010 Group G   North Korea 2–1 Maicon, Elano
  Ivory Coast 3–1 Luís Fabiano (2), Elano
  Portugal 0–0
Round of 16   Chile 3–0 Juan, Luís Fabiano, Robinho
Quarter-finals   Netherlands 1–2 Robinho
2014 Group A   Croatia 3–1 Neymar (2), Oscar
  Mexico 0–0
  Cameroon 4–1 Neymar (2), Fred, Fernandinho
Round of 16   Chile 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)
David Luiz
Quarter-finals   Colombia 2–1 Thiago Silva, David Luiz
Semi-finals   Germany 1–7 Oscar
Third place play-off   Netherlands 0–3
2018 Group E    Switzerland 1–1 Coutinho
  Costa Rica 2–0 Coutinho, Neymar
  Serbia 2–0 Paulinho, Thiago Silva
Round of 16   Mexico 2–0 Neymar, Firmino
Quarter-finals   Belgium 1–2 Renato Augusto
2022 Group G   Serbia 2–0 Richarlison (2)
   Switzerland 1–0 Casemiro
  Cameroon 0–1
Round of 16   South Korea 4–1 Vinícius, Neymar, Richarlison, Paquetá
Quarter-finals   Croatia 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)
Neymar

By opponent edit

Country Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Win%
  Sweden 7 5 2 0 21 8 +13 71
  Mexico 5 4 1 0 13 0 +13 80
  Czechoslovakia 5 3 2 0 10 4 +6 60
  Spain 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 60
  Serbia 5 2 2 1 6 3 +3 40
  Italy 5 2 1 2 9 7 +2 40
  Netherlands 5 1 1 3 5 10 –5 20
  Chile 4 3 1 0 12 4 +8 75
  Scotland 4 3 1 0 7 2 +5 75
  England 4 3 1 0 6 2 +4 75
  Poland 4 3 0 1 13 7 +6 75
  Argentina 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 50
  France 4 1 1 2 6 7 –1 25
  Costa Rica 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 100
  Russia 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 100
  Croatia 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 67
  Cameroon 3 2 0 1 7 2 +5 67
   Switzerland 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 33
  Peru 2 2 0 0 7 2 +5 100
  Austria 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 100
  Turkey 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 100
  Uruguay 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 50
  Portugal 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2 0
  Hungary 2 0 0 2 3 7 –4 0
  Germany 2 1 0 1 3 7 –4 50
  Belgium 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 50
  Bolivia 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100
  China 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100
  New Zealand 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100
  Japan 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 100
  South Korea 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 100
  Ghana 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100
  Morocco 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100
  Northern Ireland 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100
  Zaire 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100
  Ivory Coast 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 100
  Australia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100
  Denmark 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100
  Romania 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100
  Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100
  North Korea 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100
  Colombia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100
  Algeria 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100
  East Germany 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100
  United States 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100
  Wales 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100
  Norway 1 0 0 1 1 2 –1 0
Total 114 76 19 19 237 108 +129 66

Record players edit

Brazil's record World Cup player, Cafu is also the only player ever to have appeared in three consecutive World Cup finals: 1994, 1998 and 2002.

 
Cafu won the World Cup twice, in 1994 and in 2002, and is Brazil's record World Cup player.

Most matches played edit

Rank Player Matches World Cups
1 Cafu 20 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
2 Ronaldo 19 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
3 Cláudio Taffarel 18 1990, 1994, 1998
Dunga 18 1990, 1994, 1998
5 Roberto Carlos 17 1998, 2002, 2006
Lúcio 17 2002, 2006, 2010
7 Jairzinho 16 1966, 1970, 1974
Gilberto Silva 16 2002, 2006, 2010
9 Nílton Santos 15 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
Didi 15 1954, 1958, 1962
Rivellino 15 1970, 1974, 1978
Bebeto 15 1990, 1994, 1998

Most tournament appearances edit

Altogether eight players share the record of four participations. The goalkeeper Émerson Leão is the only one who has played four tournaments non-consecutively (not called at 1982).

Apps. Name Pos. World Cups
4 Cafu DF 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Castilho GK 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
Djalma Santos DF 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966
Leão GK 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986
Nílton Santos DF 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
Pelé MF 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
Ronaldo FW 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Thiago Silva DF 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022

Top scorers edit

Five Brazilians have won the World Cup Golden Boot Award over the years: Leônidas with 7 goals in 1938, Ademir with 9 goals in 1950, Garrincha and Vavá with 4 goals each in 1962 and Ronaldo with 8 goals in 2002.

 
With 15 goals, Ronaldo is the second-most successful striker in World Cup history, behind only Miroslav Klose (16).
Rank Player Goals World Cups
1 Ronaldo 15 1998 (4), 2002 (8), 2006 (3)
2 Pelé 12 1958 (6), 1962 (1), 1966 (1), 1970 (4)
3 Ademir 9 1950
Vavá 9 1958 (5), 1962 (4)
Jairzinho 9 1970 (7), 1974 (2)
6 Leônidas 8 1934 (1), 1938 (7)
Rivaldo 8 1998 (3), 2002 (5)
Neymar 8 2014 (4), 2018 (2), 2022 (2)
9 Careca 7 1986 (5), 1990 (2)
10 Bebeto 6 1994 (3), 1998 (3)
Rivellino 6 1970 (3), 1974 (3)

Players provided by club edit

Below is the list of clubs that have provided more than 5 players throughout the FIFA World Cup editions:[4][5]

Club Total players
  Botafogo 47
  São Paulo 46
  Flamengo 36
  Vasco da Gama 34
  Fluminense 32
  Corinthians 24
  Palmeiras
  Santos
  Real Madrid 13
  Atlético Mineiro 12
  Barcelona 11
  Cruzeiro
  Roma 10
  Internazionale 9
  Paris Saint-Germain
  Grêmio 8
  Internacional
  Milan 7
  Benfica 6
  Chelsea
  Juventus
  Manchester City
  Portuguesa
Notes
  • 1930: Some sources claim that players Doca (São Cristóvão) and Benevenuto (Flamengo) were not officially entered at the 1930 squad. This count includes Benevenuto and Doca. Araken never played for Flamengo, but he was registered as a club athlete just as a matter of formality, since APEA (São Paulo) was in a power struggle over command of Brazilian football with the CBD, situated in Rio de Janeiro. The player, in fact, had terminated with Santos and signed with São Paulo.[6][7]
  • 1934: This count does not include players who didn't travel to Italy and stayed on stand-by in Brazil: Almeida (Bahia), Bilé (Ypiranga-SP), Jaguaré (Corinthians) and Pamplona (Botafogo).[8] Neither includes Domingos da Guia, barred from participating in the competition by Nacional Montevideo, who had already ceded Patesko and demanded a high compensation fee.[9]

Awards and records edit

Team awards edit

Individual awards edit

Golden Ball awards edit

Golden Boot awards edit

Other individual awards edit

Awards as coaches of other nations edit

Brazilian coaches have appeared on the sidelines of other nations with some regularity. Three of them have won team awards with their nations:

Team records edit

  • Most titles (5)
  • Most participations (22)
  • Most games played (114)
  • Most victories (76)
  • Most goals scored (237)
  • Biggest goal difference (+129)
  • Most sendings-off (11)
  • Most finishes in the Top 8 (19) and Top 16 (22)
  • Most consecutive wins (11) and matches without losing (13)
  • One of two teams to have defended their title as champions (1962). The other being Italy (1938).
  • One of two teams to have progressed to three consecutive World Cup finals (1994-2002). The other being Germany (1982-1990).
  • Most wins in one tournament (7, 2002)
  • Biggest goal difference as champion (+14, 2002), shared with Germany (2014)

Individual records edit

  • Pelé holds a number of FIFA World Cup records:
    • Only player to win three FIFA World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970)
    • Youngest tournament winner (1958, at 17y 249d)
    • Youngest goalscorer (1958 v Wales, at 17y 239d)
    • Youngest hat-trick scorer (1958 v France, at 17y 244d)
    • Youngest goalscorer in a final (1958 v Sweden, at 17y 249d)
  • Youngest Golden Ball winner: Ronaldo (1998, at 21y 9m 24d)
  • Most appearances in an All-Star Team: Djalma Santos (3, 1954–1962) (shared with Franz Beckenbauer and Philipp Lahm)
  • Most appearances as a substitute: Denílson (11, 1998–2002)
  • Most tournament wins as player and coach: Mário Zagallo (3, 1958 & 1962 as player, 1970 as coach)
  • Only player to appear in three consecutive FIFA World Cup finals: Cafu (1994, 1998 and 2002)
  • Most team awards won: Cafu (4, 1994–2006)
  • Most cautions: Cafu (6), shared with Zinedine Zidane and Rafael Márquez[10]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup™ reached 3.2 billion viewers, one billion watched final" (Press release). FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup™ Teams Statistics". FIFA. Retrieved 17 November 2017.[dead link]
  3. ^ "World Cup All Time League Table". WorldFootball.net.
  4. ^ Globo Esporte (7 May 2014). "Copa: Botafogo segue líder entre clubes que mais cederam jogadores à Seleção" (in Portuguese). Blog Numerólogos. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  5. ^ Michael Serra (19 November 2022). "Guia Histórico da Copa do Mundo 2022" (PDF). São Paulo FC (in Portuguese).
  6. ^ "Araken Patusca: a curiosa história de um dos astros da Seleção Brasileira na primeira Copa do Mundo" (in Portuguese). CBF. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ^ "São Paulo em Copas: clube já cedeu 46 jogadores ao Brasil, mas não tem convocados há 16 anos". GloboEsporte (in Portuguese). 25 November 2022.
  8. ^ Gehringer, Max. A grande história dos mundiais 1930, 1934, 1938, 1950 (in Portuguese). e-Galáxia. ISBN 978-65-8763-955-0.
  9. ^ Vellozo Ribas, Lycio (2018). O Livro de Ouro das Copas (in Portuguese). Faro Digital. ISBN 978-85-9581-013-6.
  10. ^ "FIFA World Cup All Time Statistics — All editions". FIFA. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-14.

External links edit

  • FIFA World Cup official website
  • Brazil at FIFA.com