Explained: Why Brazil have sacked coach Dorival Junior with FIFA World Cup Qualifiers still underway

Dorival Junior was sacked as full-time manager of the Brazil football team on Friday, a little over a year after he was put in charge of one of the most celebrated teams across sport. The former defensive midfielder was hired by the the Confederation of Brazilian Football’s (CBF) with the aim of helping ‘Selecao Canarinho’ end their wait for a sixth world title that has spanned more than two decades.

Humiliating loss against Argentina leads to Dorival’s ouster

Dorival, however, finds himself without a job with Brazil’s qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup still underway, following the team’s humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals and reigning world champions Argentina.

“Dorival Junior is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team. The management thanks him and wishes him success for the rest of his career,” the CBF said in a statement.

Dorival, 62, had only been in charge since January 2024, succeeding interim coach Fernando Diniz, but has overseen a lacklustre qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil are fourth in the South American qualifying table, 10 points behind defending world champions Argentina who have already made sure of their place in the finals.

Brazil also sit behind Ecuador and Uruguay.

There are six automatic qualifying spots for teams from South America.

Brazil will visit Ecuador and host Paraguay on June 4 and 9, respectively, in the next set of qualifiers.

The writing was on the wall for Dorival after Tuesday’s rout in Buenos Aires.

“Nobody expected what we saw today, and the responsibility is entirely mine,” the coach acknowledged after the game.

NOTA OFICIAL 🇧🇷

A Confederação Brasileira de Futebol informa que o técnico Dorival Júnior não comanda mais a Seleção Brasileira. A direção agradece ao profissional e deseja sucesso na continuidade de sua carreira. A partir de agora, a CBF vai trabalhar em busca do substituto.… pic.twitter.com/CVbTAOaYPQ

— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) March 28, 2025

Dorival took over the Selecao after winning domestic titles with Flamengo and Sao Paulo.

His appointment was announced only after months of speculation about the possible arrival of Real Madrid’s Italian coach, Carlo Ancelotti.

Brazilian media claim that Ancelotti is again among the targets to succeed Dorival as is Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, currently in charge of Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Fellow Portuguese Abel Ferreira, who won numerous titles with Brazilian club Palmeiras, has also been linked with the job.

Ancelotti dismissed the speculation on Friday, saying he intended to see out his contract in Madrid which runs until June 2026, despite his “affection for Brazil, its players, and its fans.”

Dorival’s debut saw a victory against England at Wembley with a goal from teenage star Endrick.

No golden age

However, any hopes of a new golden age of football for the spiritual home of the game, were dashed by a miserable performance at the 2024 Copa America.

At that tournament, Brazil limped into the knockout stages after just one win and two draws in their group campaign.

They then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in the quarter-finals.

Adding insult to injury, Argentina went on to claim the title.

Other low points followed – a 1-0 defeat in Paraguay and a 1-1 draw against Venezuela in World Cup qualifiers.

Performances left fans bemused that Dorival was unable to bring the best out of talented players such as Vinícius Junior, Rodrygo and Raphinha.

Also missing was the traditional art and panache demanded by the team’s fans.

Adding to Dorival’s headaches was the fading talents of 33-year-old Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer who has been plagued by physical ailments.

Back in Brazil, at his boyhood club Santos, Neymar hoped to make his comeback to the national team after more than a year out due to a serious knee injury.

However, he missed the last two matches against Colombia (a 2-1 victory) and the rout in Argentina due to a thigh problem.

Whoever succeeds Dorival, the task will be to resurrect the style and bring a first title back to the country since the 2019 Copa America.

Dorival had hinted at the obstacles facing Brazil, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as they limped through the ongoing qualifying round.

He insisted that the football “world order” was changing and that the five-time champions and Argentina could not just expect to waltz past regional rivals.

“South American football has grown a lot overall. If you look at the majority of the national line-ups, you see players playing in teams all over the world, which wasn’t the case until recently,” he said in an interview in November.

“The top teams haven’t had as much room to grow, while the teams at the bottom are starting to make interesting and big strides. This is levelling things a lot and making the matches tighter contests.”

With AFP inputs