Shambolic. Humiliation. Crisis. Plenty of football teams have been inextricably linked to words like that over the years, but very rarely could such adjectives be used to describe the fate of the Brazilian national team. The Selecao, as they are known, can be described as the heavyweight champions of football: they have won the World Cup more times than any other nation, and according to FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest footballers of all time, Brazil has produced four of the 20 best players in history – including Pele, who many believe is the best to have ever laced up his boots.
But those days, at least temporarily, seem to be over if their qualification campaign for World Cup 2026 is to be used as a marker. After their 1-4 humbling against old rivals Argentina in March, the British press laid into the Brazilian players using some of the adjectives listed above. The Brazilian media, meanwhile, was even more damning in their criticism… you don’t need to be fluent in Portuguese to know that Selecao fanatics are not overly chuffed with their heroes right now.
In previous times, the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification campaign saw four teams proceed to the tournament proper, with a fifth moving on to an inter-continental play-off. But with the World Cup expanded to 48 teams in 2026, CONMEBOL now gets six automatic qualifiers with the seventh heading into the play-off, which is all excellent news for Brazil.
At the time of writing, they sit fourth in their qualification league table and will, barring a disaster, qualify for the tournament in North America. But they’re level on points with Paraguay in fifth and one point clear of Colombia in sixth, so it’s been less than plain-sailing for Brazil – the traditional power house of South American football. So, where has it all gone wrong for the nation that has perhaps done more for the perception of the beautiful game than any other?
Lopsided Luxury
Some of the hallmarks of the very best Brazilian teams are still at large in this modern day model. Just take a look at that front four.
Raphinha
Raphinha is amongst the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or in 2025 – such has been his level at Barcelona, while Vinicius Jr is another with claims to the world’s best player prize.
Rodrygo
They are joined in attack by Rodrygo, the electric winger who starred in Real Madrid’s Champions League demolition of Manchester City in February, and Matheus Cunha, whose outstanding season with Wolves yielded 17 goal involvements in his first 24 games of the campaign. In its own way, that’s a forward line that is on a par with Ronaldo-Ronaldinho-Rivaldo and Pele-Jairzinho-Tostao.
Dunga, Gilberto Silva and Gerson
But what the most successful Brazil sides of the past shared was a sense of balance; a beastly midfield and/or defence to go with their beautiful attacking play. Players like Dunga, Gilberto Silva and Gerson may not have made as many headlines as their more creative colleagues, but their vital role in World Cup victories of yesteryear cannot be overlooked.
Young Defence Lacks Individual Prowess
This Brazil vintage simply does not have that level of ‘destroyer’ in their ranks. Newcastle United ace Joelinton and Andre are asked to work like trojans in midfield behind what is, effectively, a front four, while against Argentina – Marquinhos aside – the rest of Brazil’s young defence had just 16 international caps between them.
The best Brazilian sides were famed for their silky passing moves and the individual prowess of their attacking players. But they also had defensive application, organisation and class, something that this current outfit is lacking in spades.
A Fish Rots from the Head Down
One of the questions that Brazil fans, quite rightly, were asking after their mauling at the hands of Argentina was, ‘if our players are so good, then why is our team so bad?’ The answer is complex and multi-layered, of course, but some of the blame must surely be apportioned to the head coach, Dorival Junior.
Head Coach Problems
Aged 62 and with nearly 1,000 managerial appearances to his name, you would think that he’d know a thing or two about the beautiful game by now. But his continued belief that midfield play is optional – at times, the Brazilians were almost lined up in a 4-1-5 formation against the Argentines, suggests that he a) hasn’t got the balance right, and b) doesn’t know what his best starting eleven is.
Trophy Cabinet Lacking
Dorival Junior’s CV is a real headscratcher. He’s managed as many as eleven different Brazilian Serie A clubs – some of them twice, and three times in the case of Flamengo, with a smattering of regional league and Copa do Brasil wins. His halcyon day came in the 2022 Copa Libertadores, which his Flamengo side won, but Dorival’s persona and trophy cabinet does not scream success at international level.
Not Respected
He seems to lack respect too. In remarkable scenes during the penalty shootout between Brazil and Uruguay at Copa America in 2024, it was the players themselves that decided who would take the spot kicks and in which order – when Dorival raised his hand to speak, he was ignored. Some of his players have rallied around him, but the media and fans need much more convincing – no wonder the Brazilian Football Federation has been so keen to bring in Carlo Ancelotti.
Experience
The issue facing Brazilian football is that the national team’s head coach has typically always been from the country. But there’s a dearth of respected candidates for the job, which has seen a number of individuals that perhaps lack the experience or nous to hold one of the most prized jobs in football getting the nod.
Player Problems
It’s a challenge too when your best players are tackling jet lag before they’ve even got into training. Of the squad that took on Argentina in that World Cup qualification game in March, 16 of the players flew in from Europe and Bento had to make the rather arduous journey from Saudi Arabia.
The six remaining members of the squad play their club football in Brazil, but for the majority that travel in from overseas, even playing on home soil is something of an away game. There really is no quick fix for Brazil’s current problems. Their halcyon days of 1958, 1970 and 2002 seem like a whole lifetime ago.
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