2022 World Cup: Country Profile - Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Nov, 2022 ) :Factfile on Brazil who are in World Cup Group G: Best World Cup performance: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 Other honours: Copa America winners 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2019; Confederations Cup winners 1997, 2005, 2009, 2013; FIFA ranking: 1 Main clubs: Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Santos, Gremio How they qualified: Unbeaten winners of the single South American qualifying group Coach: Tite, 61, was appointed in 2016 and took over a national team still struggling to come to terms with their traumatic 7-1 defeat against Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup on home soil. He built a solid and well-balanced team around Neymar. While he has come in for some criticism for supposedly emphasising defence over attack, Tite survived a quarter-final exit at the 2018 World Cup and led the team to victory at the 2019 Copa America before taking them unbeaten through qualifying. Before becoming national coach, Tite won the Copa Libertadores and two Brazilian titles with Corinthians. He also led them to victory over Chelsea in the 2012 Club World Cup final.

Key player: Having reached the age of 30, Neymar knows this could be his last chance to win a World Cup after the agony of 2014 -- when his tournament was ended by injury before he saw his team-mates collapse against Germany -- and the disappointment of 2018.

The former Santos prodigy left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in a world record deal in 2017 but his move to France has not brought him the collective or individual honours he craves. He has not won the Champions League at PSG and he has still never won a Ballon d'Or. None of that will matter if he can lead Brazil to World Cup glory.

Group fixtures November 24: Brazil v Serbia November 28: Brazil v Switzerland December 2: Cameroon v Brazil Confirmed squad Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool/ENG), Ederson (Manchester City/ENG), Weverton (Palmeiras) Defenders: Dani Alves (Pumas/MEX), Danilo (Juventus/ITA), Alex Sandro (Juventus/ITA), Alex Telles (Sevilla/ESP), Bremer (Juventus/ITA), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Thiago Silva (Chelsea/ENG), Eder Militao (Real Madrid/ESP)Midfielders: Casemiro (Manchester United/ENG), Fabinho (Liverpool/ENG), Fred (Manchester United/ENG), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United/ENG), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United/ENG)Forwards: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/ESP), Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Raphinha (Barcelona/ESP), Rodrygo (Real Madrid/ESP), Antony (Manchester United/ENG), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal/ENG), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal/ENG), Pedro (Flamengo).