Brazil’s participation in the 2014 World Cup was marked by great expectation and strong national emotion. For only the second time in history, Brazil was hosting the world’s biggest football tournament — the first had been in 1950 — and the fans believed the team could win its sixth world title at home. Under the command of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Seleção entered the tournament riding the momentum of winning the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Brazil made its debut on June 12, in the group stage, with a 3-1 victory over Croatia at Arena Corinthians (now Neo Química Arena), with two goals from Neymar and one from Oscar. The team played well and left the field to applause.
In the next match, however, at Arena Castelão (CE), the Seleção did not play well and could only draw 0-0 against the hard-fighting Mexican team. The result and the team’s performance served as a warning, and Luiz Felipe Scolari demanded much more from the squad in the following match.
It worked. Brazil went on to thrash Cameroon 4-1 at Mané Garrincha, with goals from Fernandinho, Fred, and Neymar, who scored twice. The team thus finished top of Group A and maintained its status as one of the favorites for the title.
Brazil thrashed Cameroon in Brasília, in a match where Neymar scored twiceCredits: Rafael Ribeiro / CBF
The Seleção struggled again in the round of 16, managing only a 1-1 draw with Chile at Mineirão, with a goal from David Luiz, and advanced to the quarterfinals on penalties.
The next opponent would be another South American side, Colombia, led by the then young and talented James Rodríguez. And Castelão was packed once again to watch the Seleção. This time, it ended in victory: 2-1 over the Colombians, with goals from David Luiz and Thiago Silva.
The match against Colombia, however, brought a major problem for the Seleção’s coaching staff. Neymar suffered a reckless foul from full-back Camilo Zúñiga, a knee to the back, which caused a fracture to the star’s third lumbar vertebra. That ruled him out for the rest of the World Cup.
The semifinal against Germany went down in history in painful fashion for Brazilians. Without Neymar, and also without suspended captain Thiago Silva, Brazil suffered a 7-1 defeat at Mineirão — Oscar scored Brazil’s goal when the match was already 7-0.
With the squad stunned by what had happened in the semifinal, Brazil went into the third-place match against the Netherlands looking shaken. It lost again: Netherlands 3-0, at Mané Garrincha.
Thus, Brazil ended its 2014 World Cup campaign in fourth place. Despite a strong start and massive support from the fans, its performances in the decisive matches were marked by heavy defeats in the final two games.
David Luiz celebrates the equalizer against Chile in the round of 16 of the 2014 World CupCredits: Rafael Ribeiro / CBF
See Brazil’s squad for the 2014 World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Julio Cesar (Toronto FC) and Victor (Atlético-MG);
Defenders: Dante (Bayern Munich), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), David Luiz (Chelsea), Henrique (Napoli), Maicon (Roma), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain) and Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain);
Midfielders: Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Hernanes (Internazionale), Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Oscar (Chelsea), Paulinho (Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea) and Willian (Chelsea);
Forwards: Fred (Fluminense), Hulk (Zenit), Jô (Atlético-MG) and Neymar (Barcelona).
Head coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
