World Order Of Football Is Changing – Says Brazil Coach Dorival

The “world order” of football is shifting, Brazil’s coach Dorival Junior said ahead of a World Cup qualifier Thursday against Venezuela.

“I don’t think we’ll have an easy game. Forget Venezuela and Bolivia recently. Right now, the world order is changing a lot,” Dorival said on Wednesday in the Brazilian city of Belem, where the team was training.

Although pressure has eased following Brazil’s victories against Chile (2-1) and Peru (4-0) during the October double-header, the 62-year-old coach cautioned that they, much like Argentina, need to acknowledge the ground they lost to opponents they were expected to beat earlier on.

“South American football has grown a lot overall. If you look at the majority of the national line-ups, you see players playing in teams all over the world, which wasn’t the case until recently,” he said.

“The top teams haven’t had as much room to grow, while the teams at the bottom are starting to make interesting and big strides. This is leveling things a lot and making the matches tighter contests.”

Brazil are still being forged under his watch, meaning their performance will “fluctuate” while that is being worked out, he said.

But Dorival said they were heading towards becoming a “safe,” “strong,” and balanced team.

Following a rough beginning in the qualifiers, where Brazil lost half of their first eight matches in South America, the team bounced back with victories over Chile and Peru.

They currently sit fourth in the standings with 16 points after 10 games. The top six South American teams will secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Brazil sits six points behind current leaders Argentina.

Venezuela ranks eighth in the table.

“We’re not in a favorable situation, we’re coming from behind… (but) we’re gaining a greater sense of greater structure in the team,” Dorival said.

Following Friday’s match against Venezuela, Brazil will face Uruguay next Tuesday.