Another day, another individual World Cup team preview, this time for Brazil. The five-time winners play their first match of the tournament in New Jersey on Saturday, and expectations are lower than usual for the Seleção. This post, like all of our World Cup team previews, is free to read, but we'd appreciate it if you contributed to our site's sustainability by becoming a paid subscriber, or by making a one-time donation.
Brazil has lost its aura.
The five-time champions haven't won the World Cup since 2002, reaching just one semifinal in the last five tournaments, and had a rough time in CONMEBOL qualifiers, finishing fifth.
The hiring of Carlo Ancelotti, who has won 31 trophies as a head coach at elite clubs like AC Milan, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, brings promise to a younger Brazil side that features plenty of high-upside talent.
ELO Rating: 5th
Group C: Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland
Group schedule
vs Morocco, Saturday, June 13, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 6:00 pm ET
vs Haiti, Friday, June 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9:00 pm ET
vs Scotland, Wednesday, June 24, Miami, Florida, 6:00 pm ET
At their last World Cup: Qatar 2022, lost to Croatia 1-1 (4-2) in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals
Record in qualifying: 8W-4D-6L, +7 goal differential (24 gf/17 ga), 5th in CONMEBOL
Head coach: Carlo Ancelotti
Record with Brazil: 7W-2D-3L, +44 goal differential (26 gf/11 ga)
Preferred formation: 4-3-3
Nickname: The Seleção
Pre-tournament vibe check
The World Cup qualifiers were not kind to Brazil, which set plenty of disappointing firsts: The Seleção dropped six matches to five different teams, lost a home qualifier for the first time ever, and finished fifth overall with 28 points in 18 matches, their lowest-ever total.
Regardless, Brazil is entering the tournament in better form, having won three straight friendlies and five of its last eight matches. Those wins came over some weaker teams — Panama and Egypt — but also against some established teams like Senegal and Croatia.
Slotted in a favorable Group C, the Seleção have a real shot of finishing top, but could very easily place second if their result against Morocco goes awry. From there, Brazil would have to face some strong sides if results go as expected: Japan or the Netherlands in the Round of 32, Norway or Ecuador in the Round of 16, and so on.
Simply put, Brazil will have to pull off some tough wins, which it didn't do in the quarterfinals of the last two tournaments, losing to Belgium 2-1 in 2018 and to Croatia on penalties in 2022. The Seleção were the better team on paper in both of those matches, but they couldn't find a way to advance.
The hope is that Ancelotti can get Brazil back to being a team that can beat anybody and seriously compete for trophies, but do they have enough talent to do so?
Who to watch
You can argue that Brazil lacks a dangerous striker — João Pedro of Chelsea was left at home, and Igor Thiago goes ghost in big matches — but Vinícius Júnior and Raphina are two elite wingers who can score and assist.
Raphinha was limited to just 33 matches last season due to injury, but is fit and healthy for the World Cup. He had an outstanding 2024/25 season, totaling 56 goal contributions — his 13 goals and eight assists (21 goal contributions) in the UEFA Champions League broke Lionel Messi's single-season club record and tied Cristiano Ronaldo's all-time competition record.
Vinícius Júnior is coming off a 23-goal, 11-assist campaign for a Real Madrid side that went trophyless for the first time since the 2020/21 season. Vinícius Júnior's numbers may not look as impressive as Raphinha's, but that's also because Kylian Mbappé is Real Madrid's leading scorer.
It's impossible not to mention Neymar, but the 34-year-old has struggled with injuries and most recently suffered a calf injury that could keep him sidelined for the opening game against Morocco. Overall, it's hard to tell how much Neymar will play and what impact he'll have.
X-factor
Brazil shouldn't concede many goals this tournament.
Center-backs Gabriel and Marquinhos are coming off great seasons for their respective clubs and just faced each other in the UEFA Champions League final — these two players paired in central defense will determine how much of a chance Brazil has this summer.
Gabriel led Premier League winners Arsenal to 19 clean sheets and just 27 goals allowed, both the best in the league. The 28-year-old is one of the best defenders in the world, specializing in winning aerial duels, blocking shots, and making timely tackles.
Marquinhos may be 32-years-old, but he's still consistent. He only played 14 Ligue 1 games this season, but was still a staple for a PSG side that posted 18 clean sheets and conceded only 29 goals. In total, the veteran centerback has made 523 appearances for the club since joining in July 2013.
If this backline duo performs as expected, Brazil should have a chance to make some noise and potentially reclaim its glory.
The full 26-player roster
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Ederson (Fenerbahçe), Weverton (Gremio)
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Roger Ibañez (Al-Ahli), Léo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (PSG), Éderson Silva (Atalanta BC)
Midfielders: Casemiro (Manchester United), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United), Lucas Paquetá (Flamengo), Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), Danilo Santos (Botafogo)
Forwards: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid), Raphinha (Barcelona), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Neymar (Santos), Endrick (Lyon), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Luiz Henrique (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Rayan (Bournemouth)
Predicted starting XI
