Kyle Bonn
As the world’s most most successful nation, Brazil are thought of as football royalty. The Selecao have won five FIFA World Cups, one more than Germany and Italy and two more than reigning champions Argentina.
From the days of Pele to the modern teams of Ronaldo and Neymar, and all the superstars in between, Brazil have dominated not only South American football but the global competitive game. Even in their failures to win trophies, they regularly dazzle and impress.
Thus, seeing Brazil stuck in fifth in the current CONMEBOL qualifying table for the 2026 World Cup is a glaring anomaly. They do have more room for error than ever, thanks to the latest World Cup expansion that gives CONMEBOL six automatic qualification places plus another spot in the intercontinental playoff.
As unthinkable fears of Brazil failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup begin to quietly murmur, The Sporting News takes a look back at their qualification record and why falling short this time would be so shocking and historic.
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No, Brazil have never missed qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. They have contested every single one of the competition’s 22 editions from 1930 to 2022.
In fact, they are the only nation to have contested all 22 World Cup tournaments. Germany have played in 20 World Cups, while Argentina, Italy, and Mexico have contested 18.
Two of those tournaments were hosted by Brazil, in 1950 and then 2014, meaning the Selecao qualified for those two competitions automatically. They also played at the first three tournaments as invitees, as there was no qualification in the early days of the global football federation. Finally, they qualified in 1962, 1966, and 1998 as defending champions, which was part of the process for the competition at that time.
Otherwise, Brazil qualified for the other 14 World Cup tournaments via competitive right, having contested CONMEBOL qualifying. In fact, not only have they successfully qualified in every attempt, they have finished first in their respective standings all but one time.
Until 1998 (when Brazil had qualified automatically as defending champions), CONMEBOL’s qualification split the 10 member nations into two groups, meaning each nation played only a maximum of eight games (or fewer depending on how many member nations were present, fewer as you go back in time). During this time, Brazil lost only one qualifying match ever, coming in 1993 when they were stunned 2-0 by Bolivia in La Paz.
In the modern format of CONMEBOL qualification, every nation plays every other nation twice, meaning each team plays a total of 18 games. This has allowed more opportunities for Brazil to suffer adverse results, and the increase of global talent has closed the gap. Still, aside from the 2002 cycle when Brazil finished third in the qualifying table, the nation had not lost more than two qualifying games in any qualifying season until the current 2026 cycle.
Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.
