Considered to be the spiritual home land of football/soccer, Brazil has given us players like Pele, Garrincha, Romario, Bebeto, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Adriano and many more. From the beaches of Copacabana, the kids of Brazil play football since dawn to midnight.

The federation was founded in 1914 and affiliatted to FIFA in 1923.

Their usual playing kit is:

• jersey: yellow with green collar and cuffs
• short: blue
• socks: white with green/yellow border

Qualifications:

They won the South American Zone group with 9 wins, 7 draws and 2 losses, on a total of 34 points. This is the first time in history when the World Champions need to qualify to the next World Cup. And they did it in style, as you have seen. Top of the group, with only 2 losses. What a difference from the qualifiers to 2002 World Cup, when they almost didn’t make it.

Well, that thing didn’t repeat itself, as Brazil was already qualified on the 4th of Sept, with two more matches to be played.

Players:

Well, the team is without a doubt, full of great names. You could even make 2 teams and they would probably end up playing the World Cup final.

Following in the steps of Taffarel, Dida is the goalkeeper for Brazil. Coming from the Champions League winners in 2003, AC Milan, he changed the idea that a Brazilian is only good to play forward.

The defence is a tough one (Cafu, Lucio, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos among the players), but the power comes from the midfield: a truly dream midfield with players like Kaka, Ze Roberto, Juninho Pernambucano and, of course, the great Ronaldinho. They are amongst the best midfielders in the world and they really are a pleasure to watch.

Finally, the forward doesn’t seem to be still Ronaldo and another one: Interanzionale Milano’s Adriano and Real Madrid’s Robinho put a lot of pressure on him.

The substitues are not to be ignored, either: you can find here players like Edmilson, Alex, Junior, Emerson and more.

Player to watch:

Everybody’s new great player: Robinho. The subject of a well publicized transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005, he has yet to prove that he is the player that Florentino Perez wanted. Aside from some sparkling moments, he doesn’t yet shown us why he is one of the most expensive transfers in the history of football. He is a bet to be won and the World Cup in Germany might be the place. Especially since he might be a lot more rested than his teammates, since he doesn’t play too much in his club team.