The five-time world champions have accumulated ten points from eight matches and have recorded four defeats in their last five qualifying matches.
Brazil needs “rapid improvement” in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Brazilian coach Dorival Júnior said at the start of training camp ahead of upcoming matches against Chile and Peru.
“These will be two fundamental matches, extremely important. We are at a stage where we need a lot of results, due to the current situation, our position in the standings,” said the coach in a video published this Monday by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
“We need to speed up our process because our moment demands rapid improvement, and I hope that happens in these two games,” he added.
With four defeats in their last five qualifying matches and a position in the middle of the table, on the verge of a play-off place, the Seleção will travel to Chile on Thursday in Santiago and will host Peru in Brasilia next Tuesday.
The chances of improvement appear feasible for the five-time world champions, as Chile (9th) and Peru (10th) struggle at the bottom of the rankings.
However, they could face challenges after losing five of the 23 players initially called up by Dorival Júnior due to injuries, including four starters: goalkeeper Alisson, left back Guilherme Arana, central defender Éder Militao and striker Vinicius Jr.
“I hope we will be very well prepared and perform at a very high level in both matches. That’s all we hope for. We will look for both results, while respecting our opponents,” stressed the coach.
Dorival Júnior, 62, noted that Chile, their opponent Thursday in the ninth round of qualifying, has a team that performs well in ball control with players of “very good level.”
“It’s a national team that we know well, that we have been following for some time. I hope that we can create the conditions to play at a very high level, within our abilities, by aiming at the opponent’s goal, by working offensively ,” he said.
The five-time world champions, who have scored ten points in eight matches, began training on Monday at the Palmeiras training site in São Paulo.
“We are in a phase of growth and adaptation, but we need to get back to winning ways and get closer to the leaders, where we need to be,” said goalkeeper Ederson, who is expected to start due to the absence by Alisson.
“Our goal is to win both games to get our confidence back. After that we will have to think about other aspects, playing good football and what lies ahead,” the Manchester City goalkeeper added in another video posted by the CBF.
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