Spain vs Brazil: Historical balance, statistics and memorable matches

This Tuesday, Spain will host Brazil at the Santiago Bernabéu to play what will be the tenth official clash between these two teams.
by
Desmond Efe-Khaese
2024-03-24 16:38:50

The Dorival Júnior era in the Brazilian National Team has already formally begun and, after the solid victory against England at Wembley, the Seleção will seek to extend its good moment against the Spanish National Team at the Santiago Bernabéu next Tuesday.

Although there are not many records on the shelves of the World Cups of confrontations in the biggest stages of the competition between these two teams, in recent years Spain and Brazil have starred in spectacular duels that were marked in the retinas of hundreds of thousands of fans and this week one more will be added to this record.

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Spain vs Brazil: Historical balance of confrontations

In total, Spain and Brazil have played nine official matches throughout history, but there is a catch in this data, since FIFA does not count their clash in the Olympic Games as an official duel. Therefore, for practical reasons, we will ignore this duel when talking about figures and statistics.

The first official match between Spain and Brazil on record was a round of 16 clash at the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

On that occasion, a Spain led between the sticks by the legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora won 3-1 against Brazil with goals from José Iraragorri (16′ and 26′) and Isidro Lángara (41′). In the 72nd minute, Léonidas pulled one back for Brazil, but the scoreboard did not move any further.

However, unfortunately for the Spanish team, this trend of victories against Brazil does not seem to be a constant in their clashes throughout history.

In total, in official or friendly competitions, Spain and Brazil have played nine matches, with this Tuesday’s match at the Bernabéu being the tenth, in which Brazil has won five times, they have drawn twice and Spain has only won victory in two games.

  • Brazil vs Spain matches
    • Brazil Victories : 5
    • Ties : 2
    • Spain Victories : 2

His last duels? Two finals, two victories for Brazil

Brazil is not a rival that brings back fond memories for Spanish fans, since in recent decades the dominance of the Seleção has been more than evident and their last two clashes, both in finals, demonstrate this.

The most recent precedent between the two is, precisely, one of those matches that FIFA does not recognize as official, but which is also one of the most important and prestigious in the world of sport: the final of the football category of the Olympic Games. Tokyo 2020.

That clash, which was played in 2021 due to the pandemic, was played on August 7 at the Yokohama International Stadium, the same venue where Brazil became five-time world champion in the 2002 World Cup final against Germany.

The result? A hard-fought 2-1 victory against Spain with goals from Matheus Cunha and Malcom, thus establishing themselves as two-time Olympic champions.

Another unforgettable clash between these two teams was the, for many humiliating, victory against two-time European champion and world champion Spain in the 2013 Confederations Cup final.

With a crushing 3-0, Brazil silenced the best Spanish team in history with a masterful double from Fred (2′ and 47′) and one more goal from Neymar Jr. (44′).

Background in world cups

In World Cups, Spain and Brazil have faced each other a total of five times. The first was that aforementioned 3-1 victory for Spain in the 34th minute.

16 years later, in the 1950 World Cup, Brazil would take revenge with a crushing 6-1 victory against the Spanish team, in a match in which Ademir, Jair, Chico and Zizinho dominated the Spanish from start to finish.

Their fourth match would take place in the 1962 World Cup, adding another victory for Brazil 2-1 in the group stage. In the 78th minute, they would meet again in the group stage, tying 0-0.

Their last World Cup match would take place in the group stage of the World Cup in Mexico 86′, and as was already a trend, Brazil would win 0-1 thanks to a solitary goal from Sócrates (60′).