Brazil have arrived in Townsville for the first of two men’s international friendlies against Australia in Queensland, with kick-off at 8pm AEST at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. It is the first men’s A international to be played in Townsville, and Brazil will take the field as the official “home” side.
For Brazil, the visit to a north Queensland town with a population of just over 200,000 marks the starting point of a regeneration after another World Cup failure. The fixtures, followed by a game against India on 3 October, are also set to prove lucrative for the South Americans.
The pull of the Brazilian shirt remains considerable. No other nation has won more World Cup titles, and the aura of a shirt worn by Pelé, Socrates, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Neymar endures. Vinícius, Raphinha, Marquinhos and their teammates are global superstars, and the cultural cachet of joga bonito still travels — as does the goodwill that accompanies them. A Brazilian supporter carrying a prop World Cup trophy was among those making the connection from Brisbane airport to Townsville on Thursday morning.
The second match is at Lang Park in Brisbane next Tuesday, where Brazil will play on a surface only four days after the Dolphins v Roosters preliminary final.
Brazil’s arrival comes at an inflection point — or, more accurately, the latest of them — as the nation conducts a new round of soul-searching over its increasingly diminishing place among football’s elite.