Against Chile, Dorival Junior recovered in command of Brazilian teamafter a FIFA Date in which he suffered his first defeat since taking over the team in January this year. With goals from Igor Jesus and Luiz Henrique, Botafogo's highlights this season, Brazil won 2-1, coming from behind, and reached fourth place in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. It is the team's fifth victory since the arrival of Dorival.
Former São Paulo coach, Dorival received an invitation from Ednaldo Rodrigues to take command of the team, after the refusal of Carlo Ancelotti, who renewed his contract with Real Madrid. During this period at the head of the Brazilian team, Dorival played 11 matches, with five wins, five draws and only one defeat – against Paraguay, in September.
Furthermore, of the 11 matches, in seven the Brazilian team was leaked at least once. At Flamengo, the club he led in 2022, the defensive sector was one of the team's strengths: in the Libertadores title, they conceded just two goals in the knockout stage, and were undefeated champions.
“Renovation is not simple. Today, we had four players who finished the last match of the World Cup and that has considerable weight. We don't have the structure that was set up for the previous World Cup. This makes it a little more difficult to strike a balance with the youthfulness of the boys, in addition to the experience of some. These fluctuations happen and will continue to happen, we have to be patient. We will have a very strong team in two years, but we will be in a bit of a bind until then”, said the coach after the victory over Chile.
Before Dorival, Brazil was led by Fernando Diniz, on an interim basis, throughout 2023. While leading Fluminense to the unprecedented Libertadores title, the coach was ahead of Brazil for six games in the Qualifiers. After a good start, with victories over Bolivia (5-1) and Peru (1-0), the team went four games without winning, which culminated in the discontinuity of the coach's work.
In comparison, Dorival has a 60.61% success rate ahead of the Brazilian team, while Diniz left command after six games, with two wins, one draw and three defeats, with 38.9% of the points scored. The then Fluminense coach's attack was not exciting, with only eight goals scored – five of these against Bolivia. Furthermore, he conceded seven goals in six matches.
In comparison, Tite's Brazil, in 2016, dominated the South American Qualifiers in its first 11 games – the same volume as Dorival Jr.'s work so far. During the period, the team won all the games it played (nine) and was defeated on just one occasion, in a friendly against Argentina. The team's performance was close to 91%, and they went to the net 29 times during their start of work.
With an average of 2.9 goals per game, Tite's team collected important victories at the beginning of their work, such as 3-0 over Argentina and 4-1 against Uruguay, in Montevideo. In the first 11 matches, he also only suffered three goals. The performance guaranteed the recovery of the team, which until then had suffered under coach Dunga – it had been eliminated early in the Copa América in 2015 and 2016 – and was fighting to guarantee its place in the World Cup.
Dorival's job threatened?
Three factors may come into play for Dorival Júnior to remain in the Brazilian team, at least until the next qualifying games:
- Dorival Júnior's working time
- Short period until the World Cup
- New coach would be the fourth in the cycle for the World Cup
Dorival did not complete a year as head of the Brazilian team. He took over in January and has played just nine games so far – Tite, for example, had two years to work before the 2018 World Cup and maintained the project for Qatar. Less than two years separate the Brazilian team from the next World Cup, in the USA, Canada and Mexico, a factor that would make the next coach's job difficult.
Furthermore, if he is fired, the Brazilian team would have its fourth coach this cycle. Before Dorival, Fernando Diniz and Ramon Menezes worked throughout 2023. The CBF dreamed of Carlo Ancelotti, from Real Madrid, and believed it had reached an agreement with the coach, but the Italian's renewal with the Spanish club frustrated expectations by Ednaldo Rodrigues. At the time, the organization's management was confident that the professional would take over the selection for the 2024 Copa América.
Brazil returns to the field next Tuesday, 15th, at 9:45 pm (Brasília time), in a duel with Peru, at the BRB Mané Garrincha Arena.
