Brazil have sacked their head coach, Dorival Júnior, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday, after the five-times world champions were thrashed 4-1 by fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating World Cup qualifying loss in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to tempt the Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.

“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement. “The management thanks [Dorival] and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement.” Dorival was handed the job after his success in 2022 with Flamengo, where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with São Paulo. However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national-team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge

After a lacklustre Copa América campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the US in June and July.
However, after Brazil slumped to their heaviest ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina, the CBF president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, decided to act.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, an elimination that led to the exit of the long-time manager, Tite.

Brazil are in the midst of their worst ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia, who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracanã late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil. They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.