Brazil enters the 2024 Copa América as one of the favorites heading into the tournament, despite its difficult form over the past year.
A poor start to the 2026 World Cup qualifying cycle, which included a resounding home loss to Argentina, raised concerns about the Selecao’s chances of challenging the elite of North, South and Central America in this tournament. year in the United States.
However, confidence was boosted by a win over England and a draw with Spain in the March internationals, and there is a greater sense of confidence that coach Dorival Junior might be able to engineer what would be a tenth European title. America Cup.
He will probably need the help of a strong team captain to make those dreams come true, but which player will wear the armband in the final? And why did Neymar previously lose honor? The Jugo Mobile looks at their recent captains in a somewhat turbulent time since the 2022 World Cup.
Who is Brazil’s captain in the 2024 Copa América?
We do not yet know which player will be confirmed as Brazil’s captain at Copa America 2024. Dorival Jr is likely to give an indication when his squad for the tournament is announced.
Brazil has used different players as captain in recent matches since Thiago Silva wore the armband for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In March 2023, the Manchester United midfielder casemiro He was named captain ahead of a friendly match against Morocco by interim coach Ramon Menezes, but has not been included in the provisional squad for this summer’s tournament.
Casemiro was injured in the World Cup qualifying matches in November of that year, so the Paris Saint-Germain star Marquinhos He wore the armband in the 1-0 home loss to Argentina.
In March this year, new coach Dorival Junior appointed the experienced Juventus defender Danilo captain of the 1-0 friendly win over England at Wembley. the real Madrid Vinícius junior He took responsibility for the 3-3 draw against Spain three days later. That was after Casemiro had to withdraw from the squad again due to injury.
Why isn’t Neymar the captain of Brazil?
Neymar was previously captain of Brazil, but was stripped of the role by former coach Tite in 2019 after some incidents of poor discipline at former club Paris Saint-Germain.
He only captained the Selecao four times before losing the armband after receiving a three-match national ban for punching a fan after PSG lost to Rennes in the French Cup final. Instead, Brazil’s captaincy for the 2019 Copa América fell to Dani Alves, the former full-back who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of rape in February 2024.
Neymar, now 32 years old and his country’s all-time leading scorer (he broke Pelé’s record last September), would be a perfect fit as captain of this year’s tournament. However, a serious knee injury suffered in 2023 will make the striker unavailable.
