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Brazil’s Greatest Football Upsets

Football in Brazil

There is no denying that Brazil is home to one of the biggest and most passionate football fanbases in the world. The Brazilian national football team has achieved may great titles and the country has produced some of the most legendary player in football history. However, anything can happen in a game of football, and Brazil has also had some massive upsets and crushing defeats.

After any football match, there is always something for the players, the manager, and the fans to read from what happened on the pitch. If there were any mistakes that were made, any weaknesses in the side, or how the team’s strategy could have been different. Here, we will look at some of Brazil’s biggest upsets and defeats.

1950 World Cup - Brazil vs Uruguay

In 1950, Brazil hosted the World Cup and though they had a strong team, they had yet to win a World Cup. The previous World Cup was held in 1938, before the Second World War broke out, and after the 12 year long wait, Brazil became the second South American country to host a World Cup. They reached the final round where they had to play against Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay. Brazil beat Sweden 7-1 and then beat Spain 6-1. Going into their final match, they needed to beat Uruguay to win their first World Cup, and they were playing in their home country. Brazil took the lead in the 47th minute, but Uruguay scored in the 66th and 79th minute. With the match ending 2-1, Brazil finished in second place.

1959 Copa America - Brazil vs Argentina

Just one year after Brazil won their first World Cup, they played in the 1959 South American Championship, the precursor to the Copa America. In the final match of the tournament, Argentina had 10 points and Brazil had 9, and the two teams had to face each other in the last game. Unfortunately, the game ended in a draw, and so Brazil failed to win the Copa America.

1978 World Cup - Second Group (Argentina)

Brazil reached the second round of the 1978 World Cup, where they had to play against Argentina, Poland, and Peru. Brazil beat Peru, drew with Argentina, and then beat Poland. Argentina beat Poland and Peru, and finished the group at the top place. This was a highly controversial World Cup stage as the last matches were not played at the same time. Brazil played first, and they pushed up their goal difference to +5. Argentina went into their final match with a goal difference of +2 and so they knew that they needed to win the game by 4 or more goals. They won their last game 6-0, and a lot of reporters had accused Argentina of match fixing and deliberately organising the group to favour Argentina ahead of Brazil.

1998 World Cup - Brazil vs France

Brazil were the reigning champions of the World Cup when they entered the World Cup final in 1998. They had to face France, a country that was full of internationally famous stars, but had never won a World Cup. Brazil had not only won the previous World Cup, but they also had a massively talented team. On the French team, there were the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, and more. The Brazilian team had great legends such as Cafu,Dunga, Leonardo, and Bebeto, but they also had younger stars such as Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and more. Brazil were the favourites to win, with odds of 1.67 whilst France had odds of 2.2. In a shocking turn of events, France took the lead and finished the first half 2-0, with both goals coming from Zidane. In the 68th minute, Marcel Desailly was sent off and Brazil were playing against 10 men. They failed to score against France, and in the 93rd minute, Emmanuel Petit scored a third goal and the game finished 3-0.

2014 World Cup - Brazil vs Germany

Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014. The team finished first in their group, and then they beat Chile in the round of 16 and Colombia in the quarter finals. In the semi finals, Brazil played against Germany. The first half was pretty catastrophic for Brazil, as they conceded 5 goals. In the second half, Brazil were more composed, but they had little to no chance of winning. Germany scored 2 more goals, and in the 90th minute Brazil scored their only goal of the game. The match ended 7-1, with Brazil getting knocked out of the World Cup, and Germany going to the final, which they ended up winning.