5 players who have the most wins for the Brazil national team
Having won five World Cup trophies, nine Copa America titles, and four Confederations Cup honors, amongst other prizes, Brazil are the most decorated national football team in the world.
The South American country lives and breathes football, knows how to strike the perfect balance between a winning mentality and having fun on the pitch.
The players on our list today have been the perfect representatives of the Brazilian spirit. They have been meticulous, skillful, and have delivered when called upon.
Now, without further ado, let us check out the five Brazilian superstars who have bagged the most wins in that famous yellow strip:
#5 Thiago Silva - 73 wins
A centre-back with a lion's heart, Thiago Silva is just as close a defender can get to perfection. He is calm, collected in possession, rarely commits unwarranted fouls, and sniffs out danger better than anyone.
At 37, he does not have age on his side, but the Chelsea star still has plenty of football left in him.
Luis Suarez has named Thiago Silva as the most toughest opponent he has ever faced. https://t.co/nUtpqBhWnt
Being a late bloomer, Silva is the least capped player on our list today. Since making his national team debut in 2008, Silva has featured in 105 games for the Selecao, picking up 73 wins.
Silva won his first international trophy in 2013 when Brazil beat Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup. He was also an important member of Tite’s 2019 Copa America winning squad.
#4 Dani Alves - 81 wins
The most decorated player in club football (43 trophies), Dani Alves is one of Brazil’s greatest-ever stalwarts.
Since making his debut in 2006, the attacking right-back has always answered his national team’s call, doing everything in his power to help them. Overall, Alves has played 122 games for his nation, winning 81 times.
Brilliant as he is, the 38-year-old scored and assisted in the final of his first-ever Copa America tournament. Courtesy of his outstanding performance, the Selecao cruised to a 3-0 win over arch-rivals Argentina.
His second title in the national team's colors came six years later at the 2013 Confederations Cup. Alves was once again instrumental, starting in the 3-0 win over Spain in the final.
Dani Alves is crazy fit for someone at 38 when he:
+Played every single minutes for Olympic Brazil in the Olympic Tokyo 2020 (including 2 extra times)
+ Now he lasted 90 mins in a stadium like La Paz. https://t.co/zONfwDLXMR
In 2019, Alves won the Copa America once more, this time as the captain of the Brazilian team. His consistent performances for the five-time World Cup winners saw him named the "Most Valuable Player of the Tournament".
The Barcelona ace was also a part of the 2020 Olympic squad and became the oldest (38) footballer to win a medal when Brazil beat Spain in the final.
#3 Roberto Carlos - 82 wins
Since the dawn of time, Brazil have had world-class attack-minded full-backs at their disposal. The undisputed king of set-pieces, Roberto Carlos is undoubtedly the best the country has ever seen. The left-back packed a rocket of a left-foot and was never afraid to test it.
In a 1997 friendly against France, Carlos scored an outrageous free-kick from distance, defying the laws of physics to find the back of the net. That free-kick has gone down as one of the most memorable strikes in the history of the sport.
21 years ago, THAT freekick was scored by @Oficial_RC3 🇧🇷 https://t.co/oQ8plrCxbo
Carlos, of course, was more than his free-kicks. He was a solid defender and an astute auxiliary attacker. The Real Madrid legend's work rate was also excellent and he was able to run at full steam until the last blast of the whistle.
The 2002 World Cup winner played 125 games for his country, winning 82 times and scoring 11 goals.
#2 Neymar - 84 wins
The current skipper of the Brazilian football team, Neymar is one of the most skillful players the country has ever produced. He is an excellent dribbler, excels in link-up play, and pops up with match-winning goals and assists rather frequently.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has often been slammed for his theatrics, but that should not take anything away from the pure footballing intelligence he possesses.
🎙| CAFU:
“Neymar is an amazing player, but sometimes it is difficult for him to maintain a mental state which I find very sad.”
“For me he can still win the Ballon d’Or, he is still among the top three players in the world.” https://t.co/B5vKttxrT4
Neymar has been nothing short of a sensation since making his national team debut in August 2010. He has since played 117 games for his country, winning 84 times.
Over the course of his international career, the 30-year-old has registered 71 goals and 52 assists, attaining an average of 1.05 goal-contributions per match.
Unfortunately, he has not won much with his national team yet, only bagging one Confederations Cup title over the last 12 years.
But he has age on his side and is more than capable of helping his nation win their sixth World Cup later this year in Qatar.
#1 Cafu - 88 wins
Arguably the best right-back in the history of the game, Cafu won a whopping 88 times with his beloved Brazil. He was a fearless leader for the Selecao and routinely produced moments of brilliance in Brazil’s dazzling yellow kit.
With 142 appearances for the senior team, the AC Milan great is the most capped Brazilian player of all time.
Cafu is also the only player in history to play in three consecutive World Cup finals. In 1994, the South American nation won the World Cup final by beating Italy on penalties. Four years later, they were beaten by Zinedine Zidane's France in the summit clash. Finally, in 2002, they once again emerged victorious, this time beating Germany in the final. Cafu, who was the team’s captain at the time, was sublime over the course of the tournament in South Korea and Japan.
Cafu and Roberto Carlos 🇧🇷
The greatest full back pairing ⚽️ https://t.co/v8XZoy6rHM
He appeared in his fourth consecutive World Cup in 2006. However, the star-studded Selecao were stopped in their tracks in the quarter-finals, courtesy of a Zinedine Zidane masterclass.
Apart from the two World Cup titles, he won two Copas America trophies (1997, 1999), and one Confederations Cup (1997).
Also Read: FIFA World Rankings April 2022: Top 10 nations