Brazil national under-23 football team

Brazil Olympic
Nickname(s) A Seleção (The National Team)
Association Confederação Brasileira de Futebol
(Brazilian Football Confederation)
Confederation CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach Alexandre Gallo
Captain Thiago Silva
Home stadium Various
FIFA code BRA
First colors
Second colors
First international
 Brazil 5–1 Netherlands 
(Turku, Finland; July 16, 1952)
Biggest win
 Brazil 5–0 Republic of China 
(Rome, Italy; August 29, 1960)
 Brazil 5–0 Portugal
(Athens, GA, United States; August 2, 1996)
 Brazil 5–0 New Zealand 
(Shenyang, China; August 10, 2008)
Biggest defeat
 Argentina 3–0 Brazil 
(Beijing, China; August 19, 2008)
Olympics
Appearances 12 (First in 1952)
Best result Runners-up : 1984, 1988 and 2012
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Silver 1984 Los Angeles Team
Silver 1988 Seoul Team
Bronze 1996 Atlanta Team
Bronze 2008 Beijing Team
Silver 2012 London Team

Brazil Olympic football team (also known as Brazil under-23, Brazil U23) represents Brazil in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). In 12 participations, Brazil won three silver medals (1984, 1988 and 2012) and two bronze medals (1996, 2008).

The Olympic football tournament is the only international competition in football organized by FIFA that Brazil has never won, although they have won three silver medals (1984, 1988 and 2012) and two bronze medals (1996, 2008).[1] The Brazilian Olympic team is often coached by the current national team coach, such as Mário Zagallo in 1996, Dunga in 2008 and Mano Menezes in 2012.

History

1952–1976 Summer Olympics

Brazil's first participation in the Olympics was in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952. In that year, Brazil reached the quarter-finals, when they were eliminated by West Germany 4–2.[2] In 1960, in Rome, Italy,[3] in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan,[4] in 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico,[5] and in 1972 in Berlin, West Germany,[6] Brazil was eliminated in the first stage. In Montreal, 1976, Brazil was defeated by Poland 2–0 in the semi-finals, then Brazil was defeated by the Soviet Union 2–0 in the bronze medal natch, finishing in the fourth place.[7] In these six participations, Brazil was represented by a team of junior or non-professional players as the Olympics did not allow professional players to participate during this period.

1984 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles

Starting in 1984, professional players were allowed to participate. However, European and South American teams were only allowed to include players with no more than five "A" caps at the start of the tournament. Brazil won its first medal in 1984, in Los Angeles, United States. In the group stage, Brazil beat Saudi Arabia 3–1, West Germany 1–0 and Morocco 2–0. In the quarter-finals Brazil defeated Canada in the penalty shootout, then they beat Italy 2–1 after extra-time in the semi-finals, but was beaten by France 2–0 in the gold medal Match, thus winning the silver medal.[8]

1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul

The second Brazilian silver medal was won in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. Brazil won the medal after defeating in the group stage Nigeria 4–0, Australia 3–0 and Yugoslavia 2–1. In the quarter-finals Brazil beat their South American rivals Argentina 1–0, then defeated West Germany in the penalty shootout, but was defeated by the Soviet Union 2–1 after extra time in the gold medal match.[9] Romário was the competition's top goal scorer with seven goals.[10]

1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta

Starting in 1992, only players under the age of 23 were allowed to participate, with an exception of three overage players in the team. Brazil, managed by senior team coach, Mário Zagallo, won the bronze medal for the first time in 1996, in Atlanta, United States. In the group stage, Brazil was beaten by Japan 1–0 in the first match, then they beat Hungary 3–1 and Nigeria 1–0, finishing in the group's first position. After beating Ghana 4–2 in the quarter-finals, Brazil was defeated by Nigeria 4–3 after extra time. In the bronze medal match, Brazil beat Portugal 5–0.[11]

2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney

Brazil, managed by senior team coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the group stage, Brazil beat by Slovakia 3–1 in the first match, then they were beaten by South Africa 3–1. In the last group match, Brazil beat Japan 1–0 to secure the first position in the group stage. In the quarter-finals, Brazil was beaten by Cameroon 1–2, who later won the gold medal.[12]

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup

In December 2002, CBF appointed Ricardo Gomes as the coach for Brazil Olympic team prepared for the 2004 Olympic Games. Prior to the Olympic qualification tournament, Brazil Olympic team or Brazil U23 was sent to compete at 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Brazil was invited to the tournament and decided to sent their Under-23 team because their senior team was competing at 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup a month earlier. Although Brazil competed as an Under-23 team, all the appearances and goals in this tournament were recognized by FIFA as full international caps.[13] Brazil U-23 team went on to the final and was beaten by Mexico 0–1 after extra time, denying Brazil the chance to be the first guest team to win the tournament. The following year Brazil failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games after losing out to Paraguay and Argentina in the qualifying tournament.[14]

2008 Summer Olympics – Beijing

Brazil, managed by senior team coach, Dunga, finished in the first position in the group stage, ahead of Belgium, New Zealand, and China, which they beat 1–0, 5–0 and 3–0, respectively.[2] In the second round, Brazil beat Cameroon 2–0 after extra time.[15] Brazil and Argentina met on August 19 in the semi-final game of the competition. The game was marred by numerous fouls and two ejections for Brazil. Argentina won 3–0.[16] In the bronze medal match, Brazil beat Belgium 3–0.[17]

2012 Summer Olympics – London

Brazil, under coach Mano Menezes, was defeated by Mexico 2–1 in the gold medal match, played on August 11,[18] after beating Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand in the preliminary round, Honduras in the quarter-finals and South Korea in the semi-finals. Before the Games, they beat the Great Britain team 2–0 in a friendly game.

Previous squads

Current squad

The following 18 players were called for the friendlies matches and the Olympics.[19] Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral was injured during training and replaced by Neto on July 24. Gabriel takes Neto's place on the bench.[20]

Caps and goals as of June 9, 2012, including the match against Argentina.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
18 GK Neto July 19, 1989 0 0 Italy Fiorentina
1 GK Gabriel September 27, 1992 15 0 Italy Carpi FC
2 DF Rafael da Silva July 9, 1990 2 0 England Manchester United
3 DF Thiago Silva (captain)* September 22, 1984 28 1 France Paris Saint-Germain
6 DF Marcelo* May 12, 1988 13 4 Spain Real Madrid
13 DF Bruno Uvini June 3, 1991 3 0 Italy Napoli
4 DF Juan Jesus June 10, 1991 4 0 Italy Internazionale
14 DF Danilo July 15, 1991 6 0 Portugal Porto
15 DF Alex Sandro January 26, 1991 4 0 Portugal Porto
5 MF Sandro March 15, 1989 13 1 England QPR
7 MF Lucas Moura August 13, 1992 15 1 France Paris Saint-Germain
8 MF Rômulo September 19, 1990 5 1 Russia Spartak Moscow
5 MF Fernandinho May 5, 1985 6 1 England Manchester City
16 MF Ganso October 12, 1989 6 0 Brazil Sao Paulo
11 FW Alexandre Pato September 2, 1989 21 7 Brazil Sao Paulo
10 FW Neymar February 5, 1992 18 9 Spain Barcelona
9 FW Leandro Damião July 22, 1989 9 1 Brazil Cruzeiro
12 FW Hulk* July 25, 1986 13 3 Russia Zenit St. Petersburg

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympics record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA
France 1900 Did not participate
United Kingdom 1908
Sweden 1912
Belgium 1920
France 1924 Did not Qualify
Netherlands 1928 Did not Participate
Germany 1936
United Kingdom 1948
Finland 1952 Quarter-finals 6th 3 2 0 1 9 6
Australia 1956 Did not Qualify
Italy 1960 Round 1 6th 3 2 0 1 10 6
Japan 1964 Round 1 9th 3 1 1 1 5 2
Mexico 1968 Round 1 11th 3 0 2 1 4 5
Germany 1972 Round 1 12th 3 0 1 2 4 6
Canada 1976 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 1 2 6 6
Soviet Union 1980 Did not Qualify
United States 1984 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 9 5
South Korea 1988 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 12 4
Spain 1992 Did not Qualify
United States 1996 Third Place 3rd 6 4 1 1 16 8
Australia 2000 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 0 2 6 6
Greece 2004 Did not Qualify
People's Republic of China 2008 Third Place 3rd 6 4 1 1 14 3
United Kingdom 2012 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 16 7
Brazil 2016 Hosts
Total 3 Silver Medal
2 Bronze Medal		 13/26 48 25 9 13 95 57

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Argentina 1951 Did not enter
Mexico 1955
United States 1959 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 27 11
Brazil 1963 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 18 3
Canada 1967 Did not Qualify
Colombia 1971
Mexico 1975 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 33 2
Puerto Rico 1979 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 14 1
Venezuela 1983 Third Place 3rd 3 2 0 1 3 1
United States 1987 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 10 2
Cuba 1991 Did not Qualify
Argentina 1995 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 2 0 5 2
Canada 1999 Did not Qualify
Dominican Republic 2003 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 12 2
Brazil 2007 Round 1 5th 3 2 0 1 7 4
Mexico 2011 Round 1 6th 3 0 2 1 2 4
Canada 2015 Qualified
Total 4 Titles 11/17 45 31 9 5 131 32

Recent results

Honours

Note: Players marked with an asterisk (*) are the three overage players allowed to augment the under-23 squad. Note: The ages listed for the players are their current ages, not their ages during the tournament.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Games of the XV. Olympiad". RSSSF. October 25, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Games of the XVII. Olympiad". RSSSF. October 26, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Games of the XVIII. Olympiad". RSSSF. November 3, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Games of the XIX. Olympiad". RSSSF. November 3, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  6. ↑ "XX. Olympiad Munich 1972 Football Tournament". RSSSF. November 13, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Montreal 1976 – Fixtures and Results". FIFA.com. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Los Angeles 1984 – Fixtures and Results". FIFA.com. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  9. ↑ "Seoul 1988 – Fixtures and Results". FIFA.com. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  10. ↑ "XXIV. Olympiad Seoul 1988 Football Tournament". RSSSF. November 15, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  11. ↑ "XXV. Olympiad Atlanta 1996 Mens Football Tournament". RSSSF. November 21, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  12. ↑ "XXVII. Olympiad Sydney 2000 Mens Football Tournament". RSSSF. August 22, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2002–2003". RSSSF. October 11, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Seleção Brasileira Restritiva (Brazilian National Restrictive Team) 2000–2003". RSSSF. September 16, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Brazil – Cameroon Score". Yahoo Eurosport. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Argentina goleia Brasil e defronta Nigéria na final" (in Portuguese). TSF. August 19, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Brazil downs Belgium for men's soccer bronze". CBC. August 22, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  18. ↑ Irvin, Duncan (August 11, 2012). "Mexico Wins Soccer Gold Medal, 2–1". New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  19. ↑ Yahoo!
  20. ↑ "Goleiro Rafael é cortado e está fora da Olimpíada". Estadao. July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.

See also