RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The captain of five-time World Cup champions Brazil, former right-back Cafu, stays connected to soccer as an ambassador for Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. In that role, he keeps a close eye on which teams are favorites to win the title at the competition, which begins in a year and two months.
In addition to Brazil and Argentina, who he sees as the major powers in South America, the 51-year-old former player has singled out seven European teams as possible favorites to win the first World Cup in the Middle East: Denmark, Spain, France, Holland, England, Italy, and Portugal. “They are great teams with outstanding players. They will be tough to beat in 2022, so it is difficult to name a clear favorite right now,” said Cafu, who paid special attention to Italy, winners of the European Championship in July.
“Italy deserved to win the European Championship. Any team that wins the European Championship gets there only with great merit because it is one of the most difficult tournaments in the world of soccer. The Italian team has grown from year to year. I think they have a different mentality than the other teams. They always believe that they can win big competitions, giving them an advantage over other teams.”
Cafu played 150 games for the Brazilian national team and won six titles, including two World Cups (1994 and 2002). He also played in Spain (Real Zaragoza) and Brazil for Juventude, then for São Paulo and Palmeiras, two of the biggest clubs in the state, where he is still an idol.
He has confidence in coach Tite’s Brazilian national team as it prepares for 2022, but with caveats: “Brazil can improve in various aspects, and I think the team will continue to develop until next year’s World Cup. We have a little more than a year to correct some mistakes and improve some parts of their game until then. I think Brazil is powerful offensively. If we improve a little bit defensively, we will do very well in Qatar.”
“From what we saw in the Copa América tournament, Argentina and Brazil seem stronger than the others, but they will have to fight hard for their place in the Cup. We’ve seen many exciting moments in the matches of this Copa América, and I’m sure we’ll see many more as these teams fight for their place in the World Cup.”
Brazil and Argentina face each other again Sunday at 4 PM at the Neo Química Arena in São Paulo as part of the Qatar Cup qualifying matches. Before that, Tite’s team will face Chile at 10 PM on Thursday (2). The final round of three comes on September 9 against Peru.
As an ambassador for Qatar’s World Cup, Cafu has already made trips to the country and follows the local team’s work as they prepare for the World Cup. The former Brazilian star likes the performance of the team coached by Spaniard Félix Sánchez.
“The team’s performance at the Concacaf Gold Cup was impressive and worthy of a team preparing for a World Cup. I think they will surprise many people next year. After watching many of their games, I am sure they will play a great role as the tournament hosts. Today the team is playing with a lot of confidence, with speed and strength, which are always important in big competitions,” Cafu said, referring to the tournament in which Qatar played as guests and lost to defending champions USA in the semifinals.
The Brazilian hopes Qatar 2022 will be successful on and off the field: “I know from experience that everyone will be very welcome in Qatar, and the country is very much looking forward to welcoming fans from all over the world with open arms so they can get to know their culture, traditions, languages, and people.”
Marcos Evangelista de Morais, known as Cafu is a Brazilian former professional soccer player. With 142 appearances for the Brazil national team, he is the most internationally capped Brazilian player of all time.