Olympic Preview: Brazil

Above: Brazil come together for another tilt at Olympics Gold. Photo: The New York Times.

by Stuart Barker (24/7/24)

No international tournament is complete without the famous yellow, blue, and white of Brazil. The immensely talent group have often underachieved on the big stage but could this be the moment that they step up and wave goodbye to Marta’s international career by securing the gold medal?

Squad

Two-time silver medallists left it late to name their squad for this summer’s Olympic Games. However, we knew back in April that this would be Marta’s final competition before she retires from international football.

In her statement, she said, “If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team.”

Adding “There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete. I am very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes.”

The big omissions from the squad are Debinha, Christiane, and Manchester United’s Geyse.

Goalkeepers: Lorena, Tainá.

Defenders: Tamires, Rafaelle Souza, Antônia, Yasmim, Thaís, Tarciane.

Midfielders: Duda Sampaio, Ana Vitória, Vitória Yaya.

Forwards: Marta, Adiana, Ludmila, Kerolin, Gabi Nunes, Gabi Portilho, Jheniffer.

Alternate Players (can only be selected if any players above are injured): Luciana (GK), Lauren (DF), Angelina (MF), Priscila.

Head Coach

Brazil head coach Arthur Elias was born in São Paulo and before taking the role spent his senior coaching career with clubs based within the city, notably it is one most densely populated cities in the world with over 23.5m residents.

Elias took over the role from the vastly experienced Pia Sundhage. She was contracted to lead the team out in France but after the Seleção failed to make it out of their group in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup she left the role.

Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) acted quickly to appoint Elias as he was the stand-out candidate for the role after seven years hugely successful years with Corinthians. During this time, he picked up many honours, including four Copa Libertadores Femenina titles and the Brasileirão Feminino (Brazilian Women’s National Championship) in five out of the last six seasons.

Olympic History

The Seleção took part in the very first Olympic competition in 1996, the squad included an eighteen-year-old Formiga, who went on to retire in 2021 with a whopping 234 caps. They went on to finish fourth with a defeat against Norway in the Bronze medal match.

Eight years later, in Greece, Brazil reached the gold medal match but had to settle for silver after falling to a 2-1 defeat at the United States. In the seventy-third minute, Pretinha levelled after Lindsay Tarpley opened the scoring in the first half, forcing the match into extra time, where Abby Wambach’s header sealed the victory.

It was a case of deja vu in China four years later as Carly Lloyd’s extra-time winner again handed the United States gold.

Last time out, in Japan, Brazil suffered a disappointing campaign exiting the competition in the quarter-finals 4-3 on penalties against eventual gold medal winners Canada, Andressa and Rafaelle missing the deciding spot kicks.

How they qualified

Brazil and their South American rivals Colombia both secured their places in France when the pair reached the Copa América Femenina final back in 2022. The Seleção lifted the trophy after a 1-0 victory against the competition’s hosts when Debinha scored the only goal in the first half.

Strengths

The obvious strength of this group is its experience. Marta (186 caps), Rafaelle (94) and Tamires (148) have over 400 caps between them. They are well-placed to guide this team whatever the scenario.

**Above:** Marta takes on Jamacia’s Becky Spencer. **Photo:** Lívia Villas Boas / CBF.

Elias seems to prefer a 3-4-2-1 formation with the team being flexible to adapt their shape depending on the situation. If given space, their wingbacks will exploit it at every opportunity to provide the width, allowing Marta, Adriana and Kerolin to occupy the space in the middle.

Expect this team to get the ball into the box quickly and not let their opposition defence settle.

Development Areas

I expect 27-year-old Lorena to be trusted between the sticks but with only twenty-two international caps I do worry that the lack of international experience may be a problem when it comes to the high-pressure moments. I would have selected and started the more experienced Ferroviária stopper, Luciana over Lorena and Tainá – the latter only has one international appearance.

This Brazil team could be vulnerable against teams who are strong in transition and can attack at pace from wide areas.

Key Players

Marta

Despite being on the cusp of international retirement the 38-year-old is still the heartbeat of this team and bears the brunt of the pressure on her shoulders. More recent fans of the women’s game probably don’t appreciate her status as arguably the greatest player of her generation.

There have been spells where Marta has played her football in Europe, for Swedish sides Umeå IK (2004-2008), Tyresö (2012-2014), and Rosengård (2014-2017). While Marta has only confirmed her international retirement she appears settled at Orlando Pride and I wouldn’t expect a move to Europe to finish her career, more likely would be a return to her native home.

Marta has however only scored three international goals in the last two years, against Nicaragua and Jamacia but when the pressure is on I wouldn’t bet against Marta when it matters most.

Duda Sampaio

Duda Sampaio of Corinthians is well known to Elias. She is an attack-minded centre midfielder who would be a perfect partner for her namesake Duda Santos, who would operate in more of a holding role.

Prior to signing for Corinthians, 23-year-old Duda Sampaio received her first U23 international cap while playing for Cruzeiro. She made he full debut in 2022 as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 Copa América Femenina win over bitter rivals Argentina.

**Above**: Duda Sampaio. **Photo**: Rafael Ribeiro

One to watch

After Brazil were defeated by France in the 2019 FIFA World Cup Marta gave her famous post-match speech to empower the next generation of female footballers. One such player, aged nineteen at the time, was Kerolin.

Now twenty-four years old, the NC Courage forward is starting to show that she could be a fixture in this Seleção side for the next decade. After scoring ten goals in nineteen matches she was named the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player 2023. Following in the footsteps of previous winners, Sophia Smith, Jess Fishlock and Sam Kerr (twice).

Success would be

Within the squad, they will no doubt believe that they can secure gold but realistically, given the level of competition, simply getting on the podium at all would be considered a success.

Prediction

Since the turn of the year, Brazil have lost only once in their ten matches, which was at the hands of the United States.

You would be a brave person to bet against Spain not to top this group but outside of that, this is a very hard group to predict. Brazil, Japan, and Nigeria all have the capacity to qualify from Group C but predicting how each will perform on the day is a very difficult task.

Brazil and Japan are no strangers to each other having faced off together on three occasions in the last nine months. Brazil drew first blood with a 4-3 win in November. While Japan had responded with a 2-0 victory three days later. During April’s She Believes Cup, Elias’ side came away with a 3-0 victory on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after normal time.

So it really will be a test of who can keep their composure on the day and take those big chances.

If Brazil want to progress, their opening match against Nigeria is a must-win. Given the attacking talent available Brazil has historically underachieved but I back them to get that win and qualify for the knockout rounds.