The South Americans will be in Russia next summer, and they are among the favorites to win a World Cup for the first time in 16 years. Brazil has a slew of Premier League players in its ranks, including PSG sensation Neymar. But where does the current generation stand in comparison to the greats of English football?
Currently, there are seven Brazilian players plying their trade in the Premier League, with more expected to follow soon after Paris Saint-Germain's announcement of Neymar's transfer to Barcelona. Those seven players are: Kaka, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Miranda, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Lucas Perez.
Kaka played only 567 minutes in 14 Premier League matches for Chelsea and Orlando City before retiring from football at the age of 29. Despite not finishing his career in England, he still holds the record for the most appearances by a Brazilian player in the Premier League with 71 games.
David Luiz joined the Blues from Benfica for £34 million ($44 million) in 2013 and helped them win the Premier League title that year. He was named PFA Defender of the Year after leading Chelsea up front as part of a back four with Diego Costa and John Terry.
Thiago Silva joined PSG this season after six seasons with Chelsea.
Footballers that will contribute the most to the national squad in 2021 Firmino, the Selecao's center-forward, rounds out the top three that year, with a market worth of around 79 million US dollars. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Neymar also topped the list of Brazil's most valued soccer players. The award ceremony took place on December 1 at the AFA headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
Neymar has been the most valuable player twice and has won the trophy against some great players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. He has also helped Brazil win the cup four times. In addition to playing football, Neymar has also appeared in commercials, movies and TV shows and has sold merchandise worldwide. His official website reports sales over $150 million since its creation in 2008.
Other famous Brazilian players include Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and Pelé. All three have been nominated several times but never won the prize.
Brazil has won the gold medal in each of the last two Olympics and is the favorite to do so again in Tokyo this summer. The team is led by new head coach Tite, who replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari after the country's failure at the 2018 World Cup.
The Brazilian league is by far the most popular in South America, with Flamengo being the most successful club with five titles.
From 2016 to 2020, the Brazilian national soccer team succeeded to break into the top three FIFA rankings, having previously occupying lower places and even reaching 18th place in 2012. In 2007, after winning the Cup of Nations, Brazil was ranked second by the FIFA World Ranking system. In 2005, when they won the Confederations Cup without losing a game, they were ranked first.
In terms of total goals scored, the Brazilian national team is the fourth most successful in the history of the game, only behind Argentina, Germany, and Brazil themselves. The highest-ranked country in this list is currently Brazil at number two, with more than 100 victories confirmed by data from FIFA.
Brazil has won the most Olympic gold medals in soccer history with 13. The next-most successful nation on the sport is England with 6 gold medals. Brazil also leads the all-time medal table with 33 overall medals, including 11 silverware and 22 bronze medals.
The most decorated player in the history of the Brazilian national team is Pele, who won five championships with Santos FC. He is also the only player to have been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice.
The most recent edition of the Brazilian National Team was held from 3 January to 3 February 2019 in China.
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