Brazil World Cup History: 10 Moments That Shaped the Team

Brazil needed only a draw against Uruguay at the Maracanã to become world champion. Friaca put the hosts ahead, but Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised and Alcides Ghiggia scored Uruguay's winner. The match ended 2-1. There is a detail worth keeping straight: this was the decisive match of a four-team final group, not a conventional knockout final. That made Brazil's position especially stark. It did not have to win the game, yet lost both the lead and the title. The defeat became known as the Maracanazo.

Pelé was seventeen when Brazil faced host nation Sweden in the final. Sweden scored first, but Brazil answered and won 5-2. Pelé and Vavá scored twice each, with Zagallo adding the other goal. The first world title belonged to a team, though the teenager supplied an image that would travel far: a young forward making difficult football look almost casual. Eight years after the Maracanã defeat, Brazil had finally finished the job. This time the last whistle brought a championship rather than another wait.

Pelé's injury during the tournament could have broken Brazil's defence of the title. Instead, other players carried the attack, with Garrincha central to the run and Amarildo taking Pelé's place. In the final, Czechoslovakia went ahead through Josef Masopust. Amarildo equalised, then Zito and Vavá completed a 3-1 Brazilian victory. The names on the scoresheet matter. This championship cannot be reduced to one famous star. Brazil had enough skill around its injured forward to recover from an early setback and win a second successive World Cup.

The move ends with room on the right. Pelé rolls the ball across, Carlos Alberto runs onto it, and Brazil's captain drives home the fourth goal against Italy. The 4-1 final victory secured a third world title. Pelé, Gérson and Jairzinho had scored before him, but the captain's finish gives the match a clear closing image. It also rewards a second viewing: follow the players before the shot, not just the ball as it hits the net. The space is part of the goal.

Brazil drew level twice against Italy in Barcelona. Sócrates cancelled out Paolo Rossi's opener, and Falcão later made it 2-2. A draw would have sent Brazil through, but Rossi scored again to complete a hat-trick and a 3-2 Italian win. This was the second group stage, not a quarter-final. Telê Santana's side, with Zico among its gifted creators, was out. The score explains the exit without settling every argument about the team. You can admire the football and still see how the match was lost.

Bruno Bellone hit the post, but the ball did not stay out. It struck the back of Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos's head and bounced into the net. This happened in the quarter-final shootout against France in Guadalajara. Careca and Michel Platini had scored to make it 1-1, while Joël Bats saved a Zico penalty during the match. Extra time brought no winner. France won the shootout 4-3, with Luis Fernandez scoring the final kick. The French Football Federation describes the encounter as a final before the final and one of the finest matches in World Cup history.

Bebeto rocked his arms after scoring against the Netherlands, celebrating the birth of his son. Romário and Mazinho joined him. That warm little scene came inside a far less comfortable quarter-final. Brazil led 2-0, then Dennis Bergkamp and Aron Winter brought the Dutch level. Branco finally struck the free kick that made it 3-2 and sent Brazil through. The celebration is easy to remember on its own. Put it back in the match and another detail appears: Brazil still had work to do after the happy photograph.

The final against Italy produced no goal in ninety minutes or extra time. For the first time, a men's World Cup final had to be decided by a penalty shootout. Brazil won it 3-2. Roberto Baggio's last kick went over the bar, leaving Brazil champion for the fourth time, twenty-four years after 1970. It was a very different ending from Carlos Alberto's flowing move. Here the decisive image was a ball missing the target, followed by Brazilian relief. The title counted just as much as the more spectacular one.

Brazil returned to the final as defending champion, but France took control through a familiar route. Zinedine Zidane headed in two corners before half-time. Emmanuel Petit added a late third goal, and the hosts won 3-0. It is tempting to remember this final only through the questions surrounding Ronaldo before kick-off. The goals offer a firmer place to start. France won two key aerial contests, built a lead and finished the match. Brazil had reached another final, but reaching it did not protect the holder from a heavy defeat.

In Yokohama, Ronaldo scored twice against Germany to give Brazil a 2-0 final win. The first goal came when Oliver Kahn could not hold Rivaldo's shot and Ronaldo reached the rebound. The second put the result beyond Germany. Ronaldo finished the tournament with eight goals and the Golden Boot, while Brazil claimed title number five. Four years after the defeat in France, the same striker now supplied the winning goals. No imaginary perfect career is needed to make that ending matter. The contrast between the two finals is enough.