Coach Dorival is fired by Brazil following a dismal defeat to Argentina

Brazil’s football confederation (CBF) announced on Friday that head coach Dorival Jr. had been fired after the five-time world champions suffered a crushing 4-1 loss to fierce rivals Argentina in Buenos Aires during a qualifying match. When the Brazilian FA failed to entice Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid, the team spent a year under two interim coaches before the 62-year-old was hired in January 2024.

“Coach Dorival Jr. is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the Brazilian Football Confederation declared in a statement.

“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it continued.

Dorival was given the position following his 2022 success with Flamengo, where he won the Brazilian Cup and Copa Libertadores. He repeated the feat with Sao Paulo the following year.

After winning just seven of his 16 games as manager, he was unable to gain the respect of Brazil’s picky supporters and never seemed to grasp the responsibilities of leading the national team.

Given that there had been little to no improvement since Brazil’s disappointing Copa America campaign, in which they were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarterfinals last year, the CBF was not entirely convinced in Dorival’s efforts, according to sources who spoke to Reuters.

However, the CBF was prepared to wait until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reevaluate the situation after the European season ended and the Club World Cup took place in the United States in June and July.

However, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues made the decision to end the match after Brazil tumbled to their biggest-ever loss in a qualifier after being crushed by Argentina this week.

THE BEST APPLICANT

Although Ancelotti is under contract with Real Madrid until July 2026 and there is no sign that he will quit the European and Spanish champions, sources told Reuters that he is still the best contender.

Jorge Jesus, a Portuguese coach at Al Hilal, is the front-runner to succeed Dorival, according to Brazilian media.

For more than two years, Brazil has been in unknown ground after losing to Croatia on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, a devastating elimination that resulted in the resignation of longtime manager Tite.

Brazil has set a number of bad records under managers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz, and with Dorival in command, their humiliating loss in Buenos Aires was the most recent. Never before had they given up four goals in a World Cup qualifying match.

Brazil is now experiencing their worst World Cup qualification campaign ever. They now hold the final direct qualifying spot, one point ahead of sixth-place Colombia, who are in fourth place in the South American rankings with 21 points.

Brazil has never lost so many games, given up so many goals, or established so many bad records in the qualification tournament. In their 14 games, they have given up 16 goals and lost five of them.

Brazil suffered their first-ever home qualifying setback when they lost 1-0 to Argentina at the Maracana in late 2023.

They were also defeated by Morocco and Senegal, who had never lost to an African country before, lost to Colombia for the first time, and ended their two-decade-long winning streak against Uruguay.